Robin's plant wisdom

Have you had really just about THE WORST VEGETABLE GARDEN season ever?

We have, too. The weather was just the pits.

It is not too late to get a little harvest this fall.

We have grown Broccoli, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Cabbage, Swiss Chard, and Mizuna in 4 packs. Plant these delicious veggies NOW ( no later than September 15-20 ) for harvesting mid to late October (Brussels Sprouts in November/December).

Clean up the dead plants and weeds, and plant a few of each of these great fall vegetables.

We also have seeds for Turnips, Radishes, Beets, Spinach, and Lettuces. Now is the time!

Our popular Lettuce Plugs will be ready about mid-September.

** If you happen to have chickens, turn them loose for a day in the garden to eat the bugs and weed seeds. BEFORE you plant the new fall stuff!

Don't cut Back or Trim your Perennials or Trees or Shrubs in the Fall!

Fall is the time of year when the plants that come back next spring begin to reverse their energy from growing leaves and flowers to storing energy in their roots to get them through the winter.

It is VERY important that you not trim or cut back or cut down perennials or flowering shrubs in the fall. You should wait (no matter how bad they look) until January when there is virtually no chance that plant will try to start growing again before spring.

When plants are trimmed back too early (September, October, November) and the Southern Indiana weather is still quite warm, these plants are likely to begin growing new, tender growth. What happens next is this: all the plant's energy is up in the leaves and new growth, and suddenly POW! A killing frost or freeze kills the plant.

Be patient. Let nature take it's course, then clean up the mess in January. You will be glad you did!

Once these plants are fully dormant (asleep) in January, you should be safe.

Annuals can be cut back, trashed, or dried any time you want.

You know, they are called HOUSEPLANTS for a reason.....

At any rate, if you have put some of your houseplants outside for the summer, it is

time to get them back in!

Having said that, you need to bring them back in for three days, then back out where they were

for three days. This little dance needs to go on for two weeks. (Ideally you should begin doing this in and out about the time school starts)

While you are moving your plants back and forth, get a bucket of room temp water with a little

ivory dish soap (not dish detergent) and a microfiber cloth and wipe the leaves top and bottom

to remove bugs, dust, sap, etc. Be sure to do this in the shade, and rinse top and bottom with the garden hose. Check the soil for obvious weeds, snails, slugs, etc. You can use a soft towel to “buff” the leaves on your plants to a shine!

If your plants have become too big during their summer vacation, now would be the time to give them a bit of a trim. NEVER remove more than 1/3 of a plant's size at a time! More than that will likely shock the plant, especially if you are also changing it's light location at the same time.

Back to “Why In and Out?” The plants that have been in the outdoor light (even in the shade) have developed their leaves to accommodate the stronger light. When you just rush them from outdoors to indoors, the plant will struggle to adjust to the lower light (even in a sunny window). The results of the rush job are usually dropped leaves. Everywhere.

The three days in, three days out treatment helps the plant adjust to the lower light, and

will help keep the plant from dropping so many leaves! Ta Da.

Also important: Begin backing off on the Houseplant Feed when you bring them in from outside. Your plants will be going into the low light winter slow-down, and you should accommodate that by less if any feed, and less frequent waterings. Notice – not less water, they should still be well watered when you do, but less OFTEN due to the slow-down in their growth over the winter.