Every summer has a story. We hope that your summer has been filled with wonderful gardening moments. As we hang on to the fleeting moments of long summer days, sun-kissed skin, and seemingly endless carefree moments, we look forward to the days ahead. September is the perfect, and popular, time to be out in the garden and taking care of those essential tasks in cooler weather. In this month’s episode, we are chatting about preparing for the upcoming fall days by planting trees and shrubs, fall lawn care (~7:25), planting cover crops in your garden (~15:25), and preparing your yard for bad weather (~24:25).
We focus on planting tips for trees and shrubs, as well as why you should avoid pruning too soon! Virginia Tech has a wonderful guide for successfully pruning shrubs and a shrub pruning calendar. These guides have been our “go to” handouts for pruning. Did you know that early fall is the best time to seed and start a new lawn in Maryland? Crisp fall days provide grass seeds with the ideal environment for seed germination (warm soil temperatures and cool air temperatures).
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Timing:
- Native Plant of the Month: Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) ~27:30
- Bug of the Month: Royal Walnut Moth also known as hickory horned devils ~29:40
- Garden Tips of the Month: Garlic, figs, and winter squash ~34:50
The Garden Thyme Podcast is a monthly podcast where we help you get down and dirty in your garden, with timely gardening tips, information about native plants, and more! The Garden Thyme Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. If you have any garden questions, you can email us at UMEgardenpodcast@gmail.com. For more Hosts are Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Associate (Talbot County) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Associate for Horticulture (Queen Anne’s County), and Emily Zobel-Senior Agent Associate for Agriculture (Dorchester County).
Regarding the episode 11 (9/11) suggestion to put green tomatoes in a paper bag with banana or apple for ethylene gas to accelerate ripening, we are all familiar with the cardboard taste of hothouse grocery store tomatoes. I assume for commercial purposes a manufactured gas is used. Will the natural gas not affect flavor and consistency as the commercial does?