Prescott Garden Keeping - September Edition

September for us here in Prescott isn't really autumn at all yet.  It's just "late summer"!  

It's time to relax and enjoy the garden and landscape.  Everything is at it's best now (with any luck) and you've survived the worst of the heat of summer. 

This is the beginning of my favorite time of year.

Time for some afternoon gatherings, a lot of porch sittin', and gazing at the garden and busy birds.

Okay, well, yes... there are a few to do's which I've pulled together, but nothing too heavy.

We don't do garden maintenance at The Whiskey Porch, but I wanted to put together a series of garden keeping checklists to help keep you on track.  Whether you are going to do it all yourself, or bring in a maintenance crew to do much of it for you, these monthly guides should be useful to you if you live in and around Prescott, AZ.

All of these checklists are very specific to the micro-climate that I am in here in downtown Prescott.  So, there will be slight variations for you depending on your specific location, as well as what you grow.  Generally speaking, these lists will relate to USDA Zone 7b.  

Each year can bring a slightly different cycle to the seasons.  And occasionally, of course, we have wild years with entirely unexpected weather patterns.  Sometimes we have our first hard freeze in late October, but most often not until early December.  Keep this in mind when planning your monthly tasks.

These checklists apply generally to a landscape garden which includes primarily perennials, as well as veggies and herbs.  

​Let's get to it.
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​PLANTS & PLANTING  🌱

• Continue harvesting.  With any luck you're tomatoes are going gang busters.  (Truth be told my tomatoes are a complete bust this year... sigh.)
• Continue adding your cool season sprouts and/or seeding (see August).  I will be seeding some dill, cilantro, and radishes.  But you could also start lettuces, swiss chard, spinach, etc.
• This month and next are a good time to add new perennial plants, trees, and shrubs to your landscape.  Just remember that September and sometimes even early October can sometimes be quite warm in the midday/early afternoon, so be prepared to augment the watering as needed to get them through this period and settle in.
• Continue feeding and watering your strawberries - if you have everbearing varieties.  I usually get more blooms and fruit in late September and into October.
• Sow wildflowers.  This is a great time to sow any wildflower seeds.  Wait until late this month, or even October and November to sow, but you can begin to prepare the soil, clear weeds, etc now.  The seeds will germinate and sprout next season.
• There are many cool season annuals that are lovely to add to the garden for autumn and early winter like pansies, viola, snap dragons.  Decorative kale.  But wait for the temps to begin to cool off a bit.

​WATER  💦 

• Monsoon is typically done sometime in early September.  But typical patterns aren't always reliable these days.  If it begins to cool off in late September, and the rains have finished, this is the time to begin to cut back on your drip and irrigation schedule.  Unfortunately, this year has been really warm and continues to be, so I will be waiting to do this for a few more weeks.

​CRITTERS 🦌

• Crickets.  Don't forget to continue being vigilant.  These guys can devastate a garden and continue to be active into late autumn.
• Busy squirrels and chipmunks this time of year can become a real nuisance.  They are working hard to build fat and store their winter "snacks" which means they will be extra persistent about finding the good stuff and tearing up an otherwise beautiful garden bed.  I recently seeded some more dill and radish and just as they were about 3" high, "something" razed those sprouts to the ground overnight.
• Skeeters.  If the temps continue to stay at or near 80 degrees you may still continue to see some mosquitoes.  We've recently decided that one of the best tools for keeping these guys at bay when we are outside in the  morning and evening are the old fashioned mosquito coils to work really well.  Inexpensive, easy to use, and surprisingly effective.  As always, be sure to eliminate all standing water on your property.

​MAINTENANCE  ✂️

• Continue staking, deadheading, and pruning perennials (see August).
• Seed saving.  If you grew anything this year that did especially well, consider collecting the seeds as each plant finishes blooming and begins to set seed.  Wait for the seeds to be almost ready to fall of the plant and collect them, label them, and allow them to completely dry in the shade before packaging and storing for next season.
• Frost fabric.  If you are wanting to help extend the season for your  kitchen garden spaces, now is a good time to order good quality frost fabrics and have it at the ready for October when we may begin to have some overnight frosts.  Remember, a good quality fabric will last you for many, many seasons.
• Fertilizing.  If you are still adding some organic fertilizers to your plants, be sure to avoid nitrogen this time of year.  Continue to feed your roses through the end of the month.
• If you've still got a few weeds floating around, it's critical to get those guys pulled BEFORE they go to seed.  This is how you get ahead of the cycle for future seasons.
• Dividing.  Begin dividing and replanting spring and summer blooming perennials late this month.  Depending on the plants the cycle is every 2 - 5 years.

​OTHER - PLANNING  📝

• Complete your fall plant orders (which includes spring blooming bulbs) that you started dreaming about in August.  If you haven't ordered everything yet you'll want to get to that soon so that you can get your pick of inventories and get your plants in time for October/November planting.  The winter will give them time to settle in, develop healthy roots and burst out in the spring.
• Garden journal notes - this is a continuation of the August item.  It's a great time to make notes of what you'd like more of, less of, items to move to a better location, and ideas for new additions.  This year I'm creating a photo catalog of what's in the landscape along with bloom colors, sizes, etc so that I can think more clearly about changes I might make next season.  It's sooo easy to forget those details when everything has gone dormant.
• Prep for soil amendments.  Similar to the mulching game plan above, it's a good idea to start thinking about what types of soil amendments and how much you'll be wanting to put down before you mulch.  I always wait to do this after everything has died back or begun to go dormant in late October, but now is a good time to make a plan.
• Prep for mulching. I will be mulching heavily for plants that are on the "edge" of our zone 7 climate to help them through the winter. While I don't put it down until early November typically, it's a good idea to make a plan now. If you are going with bagged product you should be able to find it now. And if you are getting larger loads delivered, you should source it and find out when you can receive the delivery.

​GARDEN KEEPING JOURNAL ☑️

If you missed last month or want to plan ahead, you will find all of the other monthly checklists with tips and suggestions here:

Monthly Checklists

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You've still got questions?  need some help?

​We specialize in exceptional, custom design services for Prescott homeowners - architectural and landscape design.  Are you wanting to refine and area or do a complete landscape overhaul?  Give us a call.  

​Learn more about our services here:

Design and Consult Services

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​If you want more inspo.... 

​You can find lots more good stuff and inspiration on our Garden Resources page if you just can't get enough of the garden now.

More Inspo

If you got this far, then thank you for reading along.  I truly enjoy sharing information and ideas to help my community.  

I hope you found something interesting and possibly useful.  Sometimes it's just a little nudge or reminder to not forget something you already do.  And sometimes it might be something brand new for you to consider.

If you have any suggestions or ideas for things to tweak or add to the list, I'd love to hear from you.

Now, it's time for a nice cool glass of Pinot Grigio on the front porch.  

Until next time, enjoy September's beauty!
~Miriam
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