September Planting Tips, And, Sowing with "Collars" and "Hats"

Dear Folks, 
September Planting Tips

September is a heavy sowing rather than transplanting time until near the end of the month, when you can do both. However, when transplanting be sure to harden off your seedlings before putting them in the ground. Our temps do not regularly fall below 90 until around September 29th.

Prepare soil for perennial planting -- edibles need superior draining soil, work in compost or well-rotted manure -- NEVER use fresh manure unless the garden will sit for 6-12 months before planting. If your soil is already healthy, you can ad a light dressing of compost or well-rotted manure.

"Collars"

First picture shows 2 collars made from paper towel or bathroom tissue tubes. These collars keep the soil pests like sowbugs, snails and slugs from your new seed/seedling.

Cut a 3 inch piece and bury half in the soil, nest the seed in and lightly cover with soil and water well.

ALL seeded areas need to be kept moist by sprinkling/watering every day until you see the seed break ground, then you can cut back on watering to encourage deep roots.

"Hats"

I've written about chicken wire hats before. These keep the birds and other critters off you seed areas and young seedlings.  Show in the 2nd picture is a "tube" hat.

They physically discourage them, while permitting all other necessary natural activity.

After a while you can remove the hat as the birds etc. have forgotten they are there. Why? The chicken wire physically stops them but they can still see through. Unlike bird netting which is both a physical and a visual barrier, so as soon as you remove the net they think dinner is served.

I have two short videos on my youtube channel showing how to use the chicken wire hats.

Make good use of your water meter during this temperature transitional month.

Labor day is when we usually fertilize our fruit trees (again on Valentine's day and then again on Memorial Day).
We can look forward to the fall temperatures and reduced moisture. Except for the storms we don't see day time temperatures below 90 from May 29th to September 29th. Getting seed in now sets the cool weather lovers up for germination at the right time.
Give your tomatoes that survived the summer a hair cut, working over several days, trimming off damaged stems. The fruit will start to set again once the night time temps stay below 80.
Cool weather annuals and biennials can be sown every 2-4 weeks (beginning in August) through end of November or December for a continuous crop through next spring.
Some of the longer maturity vegetables need to be sown EARLY. 90-120 day maturity foods like Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Celery, Leeks, and Parsnips all need to be in the ground for 3-4 months before you can harvest them.
Berry Vines/Canes - October 1st: cut all canes, old and new, to ground after fruiting - commercial growers use this method.
Sow:
Anise
Beans (bush and pole beans in first week in September at latest)
Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cabbage, Ornamental
Calendula (Calendula Officinalis)
Caraway
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Chervil
Cilantro
Cornflower/bachelor Buttons (Centaurea Cyanus)
Cucumbers
Dill
Endive (and Chicory)
Fennel, Leaf
Onions, Green
Greens
Kale, Ornamental Cabbage
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce (leaf lettuce, arugula, mustard greens etc.)
Marigold, Citrus Scented (Tagetes Nelsonii)
Marigold, Tangerine Scented (Tagetes Lemonii)
Mustard
Nasturtium
Parsley
Peas, English and Sugar / Snap Peas
Radishes
Scented Geranium
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus)
Spinach
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet William Aka Pinks (Dianthus Barbatus)
Turnips


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

P.S.  I had the worst time with formatting this post for some reason so I apologize for any issues. I would be happy to answer questions.

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