Here in Shenandoah Junction, WV, it still feels like summer. It will be 90° this afternoon. But there are the tells that fall is coming. We are starting to get spells where the night temperatures are in the 50s. In the morning, it isn’t hot outside right away; once the sun rises, it takes much longer for the day to warm up. With under 13 hours of daylight, there are simply fewer hours for it to be warm, and the sun starts dipping toward sunset much faster.
And that has one looking at the calendar to see when the first frost is expected. Here in zip code 25442, we are in growing zone 7a, and our first frost is mid to late October, with October 19th as the supposed day. The chances are, of course, just that: chances. Some years it will be far later. It’s just many years averaging out.
However, being ready is the more important part. If you work on this list for the next few weeks, a news alert or your weather app screaming at you won’t be an emergency. You will breeze into fall, ready for it!
So what is the list?
- Figure out the average date for your ZIP code. Google will do that very easily.
- If you are in the 6th week (as we just entered it), this is your last chance to seed quick-growing cool-weather crops.
- If you fertilize roses and shrubs, stop in the 5th week.
- At 4 weeks out, plant your garlic and summer bulbs. Now then: This is important: If your soil is still warm, wait. You want the soil to be 50-60° and require cooler days combined with cool evenings. Where we are, our garlic season is actually later than that, and I do it from October to mid-October. In cooler areas, you can do it as noted.
- Dahlias? Time to get busy.
- Tomatoes: If you haven’t had to pull the plants because they died back, this is the time to remove the tomatoes and the plants as well. It gives you time to tidy up.
- One week before the average first frost, have your covers ready if you have fall crops growing. We use frost fabric. Have it where it is clean and ready to be put on (for us, some beds I have to install wooden stakes). If you forget, then it is running around, freaked out.
- That first frost? Pay attention to alerts. Typically, the first frost isn’t bad, but it will singe plants, and delicate greens can die, melting and rotting overnight.
The Other List:
As the days get shorter and cooler, use that time to prepare your garden to sleep.
Go through the garden and look for plants with seeds you can glean for next year. Harvest them to dry, then pack away.
If you like dried herbs and haven’t harvested, this is your time.
Pull out dead plants.
Clean up paths and walkways. Yes, that means weeding.
Turn over empty beds, removing any weeds before the soil freezes hard. I smooth out the beds
Clean up potting areas, wash your pots and dry them, then store them in a protected area for spring.
Clean tools, sharpen them, and stash them away for the season.
As you approach 2 weeks out, this is when you should lay down mulch, be it chopped up hay, downed leaves, etc, to protect your plants that will winter over. Strawberries appreciate this, as do herbs and flowers. Do it thick so they can sleep comfy.
~Sarah