Yardcare Tips for the North Central Region by  John Creti: Horticulturist and Host of "Gardening with an ALTITUDE"

Fall Garden Tips
Remember your house plants that have been "summering" outdoors. Get them cleaned up by hosing them down with a gentle stream of water. This not only cleans the foliage but also dislodges many insect pests and their eggs. Check the underside of the containers for sowbugs, earwigs, millipedes and other insects that can piggy back inside and become nuisance pests. If insecticides must be used to control pests, read the label carefully to make sure materials are safe and heed all precautions.

Plant for permanence. There's still time to plant perennial flowers, ground covers, spring-flowering bulbs and many kinds of trees and shrubs. The sooner things are planted in early fall will allow more time for strong and healthy root development. Container-grown and balled and burlapped nursery stock can be successfully planted through October, but hurry to get the best buys and beat storms and the frosts.

Clean up what's left of summer's annual flowers and vegetables. Rake leaves and use in the compost pile or pit. Large, waxy-coated leaves should be chopped or shredded before composting to speed up the decomposition process. Prune dead branches from shrubs and trees and shred for mulch or use in compost. Sanitation can help eliminate hiding places for pests including earwigs, slugs and sowbugs and reduce disease problems.

Reduce diseases by removing fallen leaves that are infected with powdery mildew, black spot and rust. This is important in the rose garden and will reduce the incidence of disease spread next year. After a good sanitation, spray the plants and soil with copper fungicide or sulfur.

After the frost has killed the tops of dahlias, begonias and gladiolus, lift the tubers and corms from the soil. Use a spading fork to prevent cutting and bruising these storage organs. Carefully trim away dead stems and leaves, (on dahlias leave a 3 to 4 inch stem), brush off excess soil and put into cool storage. Tubers can be saved in plastic grocery sacks filled with vermiculite or sawdust.

Make preparations to plant spring-flowering bulbs into your landscape. Select sites that are visible from windows so you can enjoy the unfolding beauty next spring. Prepare the soil for bulb beds by adding a generous supply of compost to improve drainage and add porosity. Bulbs will not survive long if soils are heavy and tend to stay waterlogged.

Install new lawns as cool weather promotes strong and healthy turf growth. There is less weed competition and water requirements are generally lower. Whether seeded or sodded, prepare the soil prior to planting to help grass plants develop a deeper and more drought-enduring root system. Add a starter fertilizer such as diammonium phosphate (18-46-0) before planting. And don't forget to work organic amendments uniformly and as deeply into the soil before planting your new lawn.

Install new lawns as cool weather promotes strong and healthy turf growth. There is less weed competition and water requirements are generally lower. Whether seeded or sodded, prepare the soil prior to planting to help grass plants develop a deeper and more drought-enduring root system. Add a starter fertilizer such as diammonium phosphate (18-46-0) before planting. And don't forget to work organic amendments uniformly and as deeply into the soil before planting your new lawn.

Start stem cuttings from some of your favorite outdoor annuals such as geraniums and impatiens. Root the cuttings in a 50/50 mixture of perlite and vermiculite. Use a plastic shoebox for a container so you can watch for root development. Once the cuttings have rooted, transplant into a good potting soil and grow these new plants indoors in bright light.

Pears should be ripened off the tree to avoid the gritty, softened flesh and discoloration around the seeds. Pick pears when they've reached full size and the exterior color has changed from dark green to light yellowish green. Cut a fruit open and if the seeds have turned brown, it's time for harvest. Fruits should ripen in a few days if stored at 70 degrees. Lower temperatures will prolong storage.

Harvest apples when they've reached full color and it only takes a gentle upward-twisting tug to separate the apple from the fruiting spurs. When fruits begin to drop from the tree, that's another signal they're ready to pick. Also, cut one fruit open and if the seeds have turned brown, it's apple-picking time.

Plant trees, shrubs and perennial flowers as long as the weather permits but try to finish up by the end of October. Add compost or sphagnum peat to the planting site and a small amount of phosphorous fertilizer can be mixed into the planting holes. Mulch well after planting, water thoroughly and make sure that new transplants receive water during the dry spells of fall and winter.

Store onions, shallots and garlic in a cool, dry area, preferably in mesh bags or slotted crates. Allow the necks to shrivel and dry naturally to prevent rot. For winter squash and pumpkins, leave a 2-inch stem, not only for a handle, but to reduce rot; store at 50 to 60 degrees. For root crops including carrots and beets, mulching with several layers of straw can keep them in the garden until you're ready to use them. It will save the storage space in your refrigerator.

Leave dahlias, tuberous begonias, caladiums and cannas in the ground until just before the first hard frost of autumn. This allows them to store maximum energy for next year. Then lift them and remove the old stems and foliage. Store in perforated plastic bags filled with sphagnum peat or sawdust. Place in a cool location protected from freezing temperatures.

Fertilize cool season lawn grasses so they can better endure cold winters and the grasses will green up faster in the spring. Use a lawn fertilizer that has plenty of nitrogen, less phosphorous and potassium. Some examples would be formulas such as 20-10-5, 11-5-5, 25-3-3 or 21-7-11. It is not beneficial to apply "winterizers" lower in nitrogen but high phosphorous and potassium as the old guidelines often suggest. After the stresses of summer, grasses need to build carbohydrate reserves to endure the winter; it is nitrogen that is needed to promote carbohydrate production.

To prevent annual bluegrass from sprouting this fall and invading your lawn, apply a pre-emergence weed control. This barrier will prevent this weedy grass from taking over areas in your lawn. Read and follow label directions.

Checklist for the High Country Gardener
As the first frosts have nipped your outdoor garden, recycle garden debris including fallen leaves, flower and vegetable cleanup by making compost piles. Make three to four inch layers of moistened organic materials, add an inch of soil between layers and if you have a source of manure, add it too. Pile the compost three to four feet high and surround each pile with snow fence to keep it in place. Moisten the compost piles as needed and mix every few weeks.

Mulch newly set divisions of perennials, except iris rhizomes. A layer of organic mulch will help roots establish more fully before the ground freezes solid. Mulch also helps to retain soil moisture for more uniform root development.

Avoid the temptation to prune trees and shrubs during the late fall. Deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as evergreens, do not have the ability or time to close the pruning wounds when they are dormant or semi-dormant. Heavy pruning should be accomplished in mid to late spring when the plants can rapidly 'heal' pruning cuts.

Vegetable Storage: Beets, carrots, turnips and potatoes keep best at 35 to 45 degrees in lightly moistened sand. Onions and shallots need cool but dry storage in slotted crates or mesh bags. Leave a 2-inch stem on acorn, Hubbard, butternut squash and pumpkins and store at 50 to 60 degrees. Horseradish, carrots, turnips, and parsnips can tolerate frost; mulched with straw, they can stay in the ground all winter.

Be on the watch for firewood beetles. Before spring, burn all firewood cut from pines killed by pine bark beetles. Otherwise, newly hatched beetles may emerge and fly into your live pine trees when warm spring weather arrives.