Save Tomato Seeds

Garden Problems

How Long Do I Have to Wait?

Friends of Benton Gardeners Sale

Worms

Reduce Your Workload with Mulch

Reduce your Garden Workload with Mulch

Planting in September

Is this a garden flower or a weed?

Minimizing Pesticide Risks

Master Gardener Sale this Saturday!

mosses have many benefits

The Joy of Gardening

Ready for Tomatoes? Wait to plant!

Master Gardener Plant Sale and Clinic

Insights Into Gardening Winter Events

Getting the Most From Your Garden

Love the Festive Look of Holly?

Love the Festive Look of Holly?

Who wouldn’t on a winter day? English holly (Ilex aqu

ifolium) is lovely and a holiday favorite. Birds and small mammals eat the berries, but they also disperse them. English holly invades natural areas and is considered an invasive species. Luckily for us, there are several other beautiful evergreen shrubs that we can plant as alternatives to English holly. Here are just two to consider: False holly is tough and drought tolerant. A lovely, colorful Pacific wax myrtle (Morella californica) is a large evergreen native shrub with aromatic leaves, fruits for wild birds and is resistant to deer.

variegated option is Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’. Benton County Master Gardeners Membership Meetings: 3rd Monday October to May, 7:00 pm – currently on Zoom

Master Gardeners Plant Sale

 

Links: BCMG Plant sale:   Bentonmg.org/plant-sale

Benton County Master Gardeners:  https://www.bentonmg.org/

~ What to do in the Garden in September ~

Maintenance and Clean Up 

• Harvest winter squash when the "ground spot" changes from white to a cream or gold color.

• Mulch carrots, parsnips and beets for winter harvesting.

• Protect tomatoes; pick green tomatoes and ripen indoors if frost threatens.

• ✦Harvest potatoes when the tops die down. Store them in a dark location.

• ✦Stop irrigating your lawn after Labor Day to suppress European crane fly populations. 

Planting and Propagation

• Divide peonies and iris.

• Plant or transplant woody ornamentals and mature herbaceous perennials. Fall planting of trees, shrubs and perennials can encourage healthy root growth over the winter.

• Plant daffodils, tulips and crocus for spring bloom. Work calcium and phosphorus into the soil below the bulbs at planting time. Remember when purchasing bulbs, the size of the bulb is directly correlated to the size of the flower yet to come in spring.

• Plant fava beans, corn salad and multiplying onions.

• Plant a winter cover crop of annual rye or winter peas in the vegetable garden.                                Click here for more about cover crops.   

From Benton County Master Gardeners Association -

Membership meetings:  3rd Monday Oct. to May 7:00pm on Zoom.