September Gardening To-Do List

Summer is finally winding down. See how our editors and contributors are preparing their gardens for the cold season ahead.

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Plant Fall Annuals

Near the end of the month, I’ll plant pansies and violas. I’ll also buy bulbs before the ones I want are sold out, but I’ll wait until the temperatures cool down before planting them. — Lynn Coulter/Atlanta, Georgia

Learn More: Fall and Winter Annuals

Prune Hibiscus

I'll cut back my hibiscus, which are tropical plants, and move them into some shade on the porch. This will help them make the transition indoors for the winter, where the light levels are lower. I’ll start moving houseplants that have been vacationing outdoors closer to the house, too. — Lynn Coulter

Learn More: How to Plant, Grow and Care for Hibiscus

Start a Salad Garden

I’ll sow seeds to grow lettuce, spinach, arugula and radishes. I like to try lettuce varieties I’ve never grown before to keep salads delicious and interesting. — Lynn Coulter

Learn More: Grow Your Own Salad Garden

Just Add Mulch

I’ll replenish the mulch around my mailbox; the mulch that’s there now has broken down and looks ugly. I’ll also start mulching around my strawberries to carry them through the cold weather. — Lynn Coulter

Learn More: 10 Mulch Do's and Don’ts

Relocate Hydrangeas

As we get closer to October, I’ll transplant some small hydrangeas that need more shade. — Lynn Coulter

Learn More: How to Plant, Grow and Care for Hydrangeas

Cure Squash

I cure my winter squash so they will store well into winter. To cure, I place squash on elevated screens in a sunny spot for 10 days. If nights threaten frost, I carry squash indoors for the night. — Julie Martens/Frostburg, Maryland

Learn More: How to Cure Vegetables for Storage

Create a Barrier

My yard receives nightly visits from deer, so I drape plastic netting over perennials that stay colorful (like heuchera) and cool-season edibles. As other leaves disappear, “my” deer feast on anything they can find, even stuff they won’t normally touch.—Julie Martens

Learn More: Deter Deer in the Garden

Don't Rake, Mow!

Forget raking leaves — mow over them! By attaching the grass catcher bag to the mower, I collect a ready supply of chopped leaves that I layer into the compost pile or use as mulch on the veggie garden. — Julie Martens

Watch for Weeds

Deal with cool-season weeds in the lawn and garden areas. Spot spray young dandelions that sprout from summer seeds. — Julie Martens

Learn More: Best Way to Get Rid of Dandelions Permanently

Check Home Exterior

I inspect the house for cracks and openings that give critters access and plug any I find. I also patrol my attic for stinkbugs that have found a way in. I knock them into a jar of soapy water. — Julie Martens

Spray Weeds

I treat hard-to-eliminate perennial weeds, like curly dock or burdock, by clipping all but a few leaves and then spraying the plant with herbicide. In fall, plants transport nutrients from leaves to roots, so spraying now can kill these plants at the root. — Julie Martens

Also See: Make Your Own Natural Weed Killer

Pick Herbs

I take a last picking of any herbs I want to dry, like a selection of mints for winter tea.—Julie Martens

Also See: How to Preserve Your Garden Herbs

Clean the Vegetable Garden

Clean up the veggie patch, pulling spent crops. Be sure to gather all plant debris — stem, leaf and fruit bits. Don’t compost diseased plants — discard them. — Julie Martens

Divide and Fertilize

September is a good time to divide irises and daylilies, fertilize fescue lawns and start cool-season vegetable seedlings. — Danny Flanders/Atlanta, Georgia

Add Compost

Incorporate compost on winter vegetable beds. — Mark and Debbie Wolfe/Atlanta, Georgia

Also See: 25 Things You Can Compost (Some May Surprise You!)

Build a PVC Pipe Greenhouse

We'll construct a PVC greenhouse framework for winter veggies. — Mark and Debbie Wolfe

Also See: 10 Backyard Greenhouses You Can Buy Online

Plant Cool-Weather Veggies

Plant another wave of cold-hardy vegetables. — Mark and Debbie Wolfe

Also See: 8 Cold-Hardy Winter Vegetables

Plant Cover Crops

Plant cover crops (peas, oats, annual rye grass and crimson clover) on the fallow winter garden beds. — Mark and Debbie Wolfe

Learn More: Cover Crops: Why You Should Be Planting Them This Fall

Burn Infested Debris

Burn garden debris that is infested with bugs. — Mark and Debbie Wolfe

Tool Maintenance

We'll change the oil in the rototiller and sharpen the tines. — Mark and Debbie Wolfe

Learn More: Cleaning and Sharpening Tools

Fertilize the Lawn

I'll apply organic chicken fertilizer to the lawn. — Melissa Caughey/Osterville, Massachusetts

Also See: How to Fertilize Your Lawn in Fall

Plant Fall Containers

I will switch out and replant garden containers with mums and cabbages. — Melissa Caughey

Also See: 20 Gorgeous Fall Hanging Basket Ideas

Reseed the Lawn

I'll reseed bare patches in the lawn. — Melissa Caughey

Learn More: How to Repair Bald Spots in Your Lawn

Check on the Bees

Check on the beehives' honey production and storage for winter. — Melissa Caughey

Also See: Beekeeping 411

Harvest Squash

I'll harvest late summer squash and gourds. — Melissa Caughey

Also See: 20 Incredible Squash Varieties

Chop Firewood

Cut, split and store firewood for the winter. — Melissa Caughey

Also See: Log Lore: The Best Firewood

Start Raking

Raking leaves begins each weekend. — Melissa Caughey

Also See: Raking Fall Leaves

Enjoy Fall Fun

I'll take a leaf peeping trip and go apple-picking. — Melissa Caughey

Also See: 10 Great Ways To Use Apples This Fall

From: Marian Parsons

Cure Firewood

Firewood burns hotter and more efficiently, with less popping and smoking, if split and allowed to “cure” in a dry place for a few weeks or months. — Felder Rushing/Jackson, Mississippi

Plant Cover Crops

Bypass the compost pile and protect your soil over the winter with an organic “green manure” — sow seeds of vetch, clover or other cool-season “cover crops” to be cut and dug into your soil next spring. — Felder Rushing

Grow Lettuce

Lettuces are as colorful as they are nutritious — and taste sweeter after a light frost. Mix and sow seed of different varieties into the garden, flower bed or pots on your patio table. — Felder Rushing

Plant Goldenrod

No one is allergic to goldenrod, one of our country’s showiest fall wildflowers. Work some into flower arrangements, and leave some to dry in place to let small songbirds feast on its tiny seeds. — Felder Rushing

Feed Your Lawn

Pretty fall leaves feed the soil naturally if simply mowed into the lawn and flower beds. Do this as long as you can, before they get too thick to cut up. — Felder Rushing

Freeze Bulbs

For better, more uniform flowering next spring, prechill tulip bulbs in the ‘fridge crisper about 5 or 6 weeks before planting. — Felder Rushing

Also See: Planting and Caring for Tulips

Pick Green Tomatoes

As the season closes, the tomatoes that won’t ripen on the vine can be harvested to ripen indoors or used in recipes. — Mick Telkamp/Raleigh, North Carolina

Clean the Grill

Even if you use the grill all year long, September is a great time to clean the grates and give the grill a tune-up after heavy summer use. — Mick Telkamp.

Learn More: How to Deep Clean Your Grill and Grates

Freeze Eggs

The chickens will start laying fewer eggs as the days get shorter. Freezing eggs while production is still high ensures we’ll have plenty on hand for holiday baking. — Mick Telkamp

Learn More: How to Freeze Chicken Eggs

Freeze Late-Summer Crops

I tend to do my canning early in the season and freeze a little later to make the most of limited freezer space. Corn, beans and peppers are good late season candidates for freezing — Mick Telkamp

Also See: How to Freeze Vegetables, Fruit and Other Surprising Things

Clean The Patio

These crazy summer rains have washed a pile of mulch right onto my balcony. I'll remove my annuals, repot any plants that need it and then sweep and spray off the patio. — Jessica Yonker/Atlanta, Georgia

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Plant Coneflowers

After seeing my tomato plant perform pretty well this summer, I'm thinking my patio receives more light than I originally thought. I love coneflowers and Georgia's climate should keep them blooming well into fall, so I'll plant one in a container to see how it does. — Jessica Yonker

Also See: Coneflower: Growing and Caring for Echinacea

Planting Bulbs

I won't be left out this time: I'll buy spring-flowering bulbs towards the end of the month and wait for the weather to cool down before planting them in pots; I'm thinking tulips and lots of them. — Jessica Yonker

Replenish Raised Bed Soil

I'll be replenishing my raised beds with rich organic soil and compost to provide a good foundation for winter crops of lettuces, kale, collards and more. — Felicia Feaster, Atlanta/Georgia

Painting and Patching Windows

Where paint has begun to chip or air is infiltrating my 1930 bungalow, I will paint and repair to keep damage and cold air leakage—and damage to indoor plants kept close to the light — to a minimum. — Felicia Feaster

Lay a Pathway

It's time for me to face facts: some of my front yard grass will never grow back, especially in well-trod areas. As a remedy I plan to install a path of stepping stones leading to my side and back yard to cover those ugly dead patches with something a little nicer to look at. — Felicia Feaster

Pick Apples!

Every fall I swear I'll do it, but this year it's going to happen. I'll find the best apple picking destination near Atlanta and come home with apples for pies, applesauce and cider. — Felicia Feaster

September Gardening To-Do List

Related To:

Shop This Look

Plant Fall Annuals

Prune Hibiscus

Start a Salad Garden

Just Add Mulch

Relocate Hydrangeas

Cure Squash

Create a Barrier

Don't Rake, Mow!

Watch for Weeds

Check Home Exterior

Spray Weeds

Pick Herbs

Clean the Vegetable Garden

Divide and Fertilize

Add Compost

Build a PVC Pipe Greenhouse

Plant Cool-Weather Veggies

Plant Cover Crops

Burn Infested Debris

Tool Maintenance

Fertilize the Lawn

Plant Fall Containers

Reseed the Lawn

Check on the Bees

Harvest Squash

Chop Firewood

Start Raking

Enjoy Fall Fun

Cure Firewood

Plant Cover Crops

Grow Lettuce

Plant Goldenrod

Feed Your Lawn

Freeze Bulbs

Pick Green Tomatoes

Clean the Grill

Freeze Eggs

Freeze Late-Summer Crops

Clean The Patio

Plant Coneflowers

Planting Bulbs

Replenish Raised Bed Soil

Painting and Patching Windows

Lay a Pathway

Pick Apples!

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