Empowering Gardens, Inc.
  • Home
  • About us
    • Core Values
    • Staff >
      • SUCCESS STORIES
  • DONATE
  • CONTACT US & NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe to our Newsletter
  • Support us
  • Gardening Tips
  • EVENTS

September 2016 Tips & Tricks 

8/31/2016

 
Early in the month, apply lawn fertilizer containing slow-release or controlled-release nitrogen. Apply about 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Water the lawn after application.
 
 Apply grass seed mix to patches on the lawn.   

Continue deadheading annuals and perennials to encourage additional flowers.   

During cold days divide spring and summer blooming perennials, water them well after planting.  

Bring houseplants indoors before the temperature drops below 50-degrees F. Treat any pests or diseases, rinse them and keep them separate from the house plants that stayed inside during the summer until they are healthy.  

As the days get colder and shorter, cut back on the frequency of watering. Plants are getting ready to go dormant and they do not need as much water at this time.  

 Avoid working on your garden when the soil is too dry or too wet.  

Add to your compost pile dead leaves and stems from healthy plants. Avoid putting into your compost infested plant material.  

During warm-sunny days, apply broadleaf weed control to your lawn to kill perennial weeds. This will minimize weeding in the spring.  

Plant spinach, leaf lettuce and radishes.  

Plant garlic. This will allow the bulb to set roots and sprout during the fall, then go dormant in the winter and sprout again in the spring. Harvest bulbs in the summer once the tops turn yellow.   

Dig out herbs such as basil, parsley, chives, and rosemary to grow them indoors during the winter. Place them under a growing light or by a window where they get direct sun, and enjoy fresh herbs all winter long!  

Check for black spot, apple scab, mildew, etc. and discard infested leaves from trees and shrubs, do not add them to your compost pile.  

If you need to transplant trees and shrubs wait until they drop their leaves or undergo color change; at this time they are entering dormancy and will not suffer much stress by moving them to a new site.       
​
  *Please note that these tips are specific to the climate and growing conditions of the Chicago land area only.

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Ana Solares

    Ana graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the College of DuPage. She continued her studies in Horticulture through the outreach program at the University of Illinois.  In 2014 Ana completed the Horticultural Therapy Certificate Program through the Chicago Botanical Garden.

    Archives

    July 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    August 2018
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Growing Skills and Creating Solutions

Please visit our Winter Shop at 7736 W. Madison St., Forest Park, IL 60130

ADDRESS​
​7730 W. Madison St.,
Forest Park, IL 60130​​
 
HOURS
Tuesday through Saturday
​9am to 5pm

Sunday 10am to 3pm
​
PHONE
708-257-3295
773-671-2980


EMAIL
richard@empoweringgardensinc.org 
ana@empoweringgardensinc.org      
egi@empoweringgardensinc.org 
     
Dear Friends, Empowering Gardens will be closed this Saturday, April 16 due to an especial event.


Empowering Gardens, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Illinois corporation. 
(c) 2016 Empowering Gardens, Inc, All rights reserved
  • Home
  • About us
    • Core Values
    • Staff >
      • SUCCESS STORIES
  • DONATE
  • CONTACT US & NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe to our Newsletter
  • Support us
  • Gardening Tips
  • EVENTS