Do you want to know how to have a spectacular late-summer garden in September? It is still possible right now. You will want to continue watering. You won’t need to as much as July and August, of course, because things should be cooling off wuite noticeably during night-time now. But there will definitely be several hot days, too, so don’t stop watering all together.

Many Shades of Mulch

Overall, assess what types of organic materials you have readily available: grass clippings, leaves that are starting to fall, spoiled straw? Things like that. Also, consider your plants that you will be cutting soon and composting, you can use those as mulch if you have smaller leaves on it. If possible, just cut back the plant to the ground and let the roots remain to decompose slowly, rather than ripping up the entire plant and disturbing the soil structure.

Don’t forget that when you mulch, you’re also protecting the soil from erosion against heavy rains and hurricanes, not just evaporation. You want to leave some space around the main stem or trunk so that water can get in there. But you don’t want plants or new shrubs and trees that made it through summer to get flooded or wash away. Take care to make sure the soil around the drip line does not dry out.

Piling any extra materials near rhe compost will let you spot-mulch later on in the season, or add carbonaceous materials to compost through winter weekend those things are in shorter supply.

Fall green goodness

Things you can plant right in September for a spectacular future harvest: arugula, beet, cabbage, calendula, carrot, dill, kale, lettuce, mizuna, mustard, radish, spinach.

Cabbage, Collards, Kale, Chard, Bok Choy are the kinds of greens that will provide for you into early winter and begin growing again in late winter, providing into May when summer plants will be growing and will need the same spaces.

Also spinach. Although spinach will take a rest when it gets really, really cold.

Harvest and process herbs and produce

Harvest and consider drying any herbs and vegetables in food dryers, or on cookie sheets. A gas oven usually stays a bit warmer internally and is dry during this more humid time of year. You can sometimes just get away with using the inside of the gas oven without even turning it on, with the heat that’s generated by just the pilot light.

Obtain or order your garlic sets and your onion sets.

Strategize for a spectacular garden next growing season in September!

Think about how you might want to plant certain things earlier, later, or in a different place entirely, and take some pictures so you know which spaces you want to fill in. Also consider which things you want to plant more of next year, and save those seeds, or . consider putting in your seed order earlier.

Let your loved ones know which seeds you would like for upcoming holidays, order open-pollinated seeds so they will be gifts that keep giving (Because you can plant and re-plant them over and over).

Gather and share seeeds

Set a date with fellow gardeners for cookie exchange/seed swap after Autumn is over, when you’ve got lots of seeds to share. Early next year is also a good time, if you didn’t save or receive certain varieties but you suspect some of your gardener friends have those same ones to share. This can be a rather dreary time of year. If you need a pick me up, a midwinter gathering of sharing seeds and having soup and tea with friends acn be the operfect antidot to the late-winter doldrums.

Plant trees, plot, and plan!

A few other things you can do aside from organizing your seed swaps this time of year:

You can plant trees! either your friends have extras, you may need to transplant some that came up in areas you don’t want. You can order from the Virginia Department of Forestry. They open their online tree sales in the spring and in the fall. They also have live sales closer to their growing operations. I know Charlottesville has a very popular tree sale that benefits the local Tree Stewards this time of year at their local Virginia Department of Forestry office in town.

Let your loved ones know which seeds you would like for holidays, birthdays, and just-because.

Photos and footprints are appropriate right now!

Look at your garden, take pictures of places that did well or places you would like to change. This is your time of year to document them, so you can be ahead of the game. This also gives you things to work on if you’re snowed in or have a minute during the winter.

Think about greener days and appreciate the pictures of how great your garden looked, even though right now all you can see are the things that are dead and that need to be weeded. Alright…from the coast to the mountains, Virginia is for gardeners!