Be sure to remove any leaves from your lawn to help reduce lawn problems; shred leaves and add to compost.
Gardening "To Do" Tips by Month for Chariton, IA
Test your garden soil and make any necessary changes to improve it for next spring.
Water trees, shrubs, and evergreens until the ground freezes. Apply a layer of mulch around these plants to help reduce winter injury.
After a frost, dig up dahlias.
Transplant trees and rosebushes.
Finish seeding your new lawns by the middle of the month.
This is the best time to fertilize your lawn if you only do so once a year.
As long as your grass continues to grow, you can continue mowing it.
Remove weeds, debris, and dead or diseased plants, as well as plants that had disease problems this year. Insects and diseases can overwinter in these plants.
Look for slug egg masses under mulch and destroy.
Harvest any remaining vegetables sensitive to frost, included winter squash, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes.
Harvest orchard apples.
Prune everbearing raspberries.
Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs, such as tulips, hyacinth, and snow drops. Consider covering with chicken wire to deter animals.
Plant garlic and horseradish.
Cut perennials to the ground.
