Gardening

September’s garden calendar includes educational programs

By Dr. William M. Johnson
Galveston County Extension Agent - Horticulture

August 31, 2006

Pecan trees have produced a heavy crop this year. A Fall Pecan Field Day will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 21, at Jim Hall's Pecan Orchard located at 11813 28th St. in Santa Fe. Photo by William M. Johnson

First, the not-so-good news: August has been a hot and humid month–it is a tradition on the Upper Gulf Coast. Even so, we avoided the real summer heat wave prevalent from the West Coast to the East Coast. At last count, Dallas had recorded over 30 days where temperatures went pass the 100-degree mark.

Now for the relatively good news: September is almost here and the latter part of the month should usher in somewhat cooler temperatures.

The mere anticipation of cooler days is all that it takes for the ardent gardener to want to till the soil, pull away what summer has burned, and plan for a newness of season and spirit. September presents many gardening opportunities, so here is a short list of items to consider for this month.

PROPAGATION WORKSHOPS: The Galveston County Master Gardeners will conduct two workshops on plant propagation. A workshop on “Easy Propagation Techniques for the Home Gardener” will be conducted on Saturday, September 9, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Galveston County Extension Office, 5115 Highway 3, in Dickinson. A second workshop on “How to Graft Your Own Fruit & Nut Trees” will be conducted on Saturday, September 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Both workshops will be presented by Master Gardeners Herman Auer, Terry Cuclis, Bert Janke and Anna Wygrys who hold the title of Master Gardener Propagation Specialists in addition to being Texas Master Gardeners.

Program participants will have the opportunity to practice soft tissue propagation and grafting techniques. There is no registration fee but class size is limited and pre-registration is required (by phone at 281-534-3413, ext. 6 or by e-mail at GALV3@wt.net).

FALL PECAN FIELD DAY: The Fall Pecan Field Day will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 21, at Jim Hall's Pecan Orchard located at 11813 28th St. in Santa Fe. Additional information will be provided in upcoming columns but be sure to make a note on your calendar or contact the Galveston County Extension Office for more information (281-534-3413, ext. 6) or visit my website given at the end of this column.

MASTER GARDENERS PLANT SALE: The Ornamental & Perennial Seminar & Sale, sponsored by the Galveston County Master Gardeners on October 21 is an “absolute must” for all area gardeners. This is an early notification so area gardeners can pencil in this popular event on their gardening calendar. More than 200 types of perennials, vines, ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs will be available including many hard-to-find varieties.

The activities will begin on Saturday, October 21, at 8:00 a.m. when Heidi Sheesley of TreeSearch Farms Nursery will present a slide seminar on perennials for the Upper Gulf Coast. She will discuss proven perennials for this area and guidelines for growing them. The Plant Sale itself will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. All activities will be conducted at Carbide Park in La Marque.

LAWN DISEASE: In Galveston County, very late September and early October mark the beginning of the brownpatch season on St. Augustine lawns. The fungus that causes brown patch will become active again with the onset of cooler temperatures. Treat lawns the last week of September if brownpatch was a severe problem last fall and apply a fungicide containing triadimefon (such as Greenlight Fung-Away and Bayer Advanced Lawn Fungus Control), or chlorothalonil (such as Daconil 2787), or PCNB (such as Terraclor) to those areas of the lawn with a past history of brownpatch. Be sure to not overwater and overfertilize the lawn as brown patch is most likely to be a severe problem in lawns receiving high levels of nitrogen and plenty of water.

PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS: Although daytime temperatures have been relatively moderate (which means lower than 100 degrees), it still has been a warm summer. Avoid spraying insecticides, fungicides and other pesticides during the heat of the day when temperatures are above 90 degrees.

The "carrier" of many liquid pesticides is petroleum-based and can cause some burning of leaves if applied when temperatures are high and plants are water-stressed or heat-stressed. Spraying should be done in early morning or late evening.

FALL VEGETABLE GARDENS: Don't forget the fall vegetable garden that can be planted after the middle of the month. A variety of cool season vegetables can be put in including collards, kale, spinach, cabbage, mustard, beets, cabbage, turnip, and kohlrabi.

ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS: Most areas of the county received decent showers during August while some areas missed out. Fall flowering annuals and perennials still require plenty of moisture if the flowers are to be attractive. Provide supplemental irrigation as needed to avoid water-stress.

LATE FERTILIZATION: Avoid the use of high nitrogen fertilizers on shrubs from late September on through early spring. Too much nitrogen applied this late can induce late succulent growth and possible winter injury.

PRUNING: Prune out dead or diseased wood from trees and shrubs. However, hold off on major pruning until midwinter. Pruning now will only stimulate tender new growth which is highly susceptible to cold injury.

As the heat of summer gives way to the refreshing coolness of fall, the chores of gardening become quite pleasant.

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

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