Fall Gardening

Garden Clippings for August 30, 2025

Summer gardening activities are threefold: weeding, feeding and watering. Weed the vegetable patch, feed the flowers and water the containers.

Fall gardening activities are also threefold: plant lettuce, split perennials and sow grass seed.

Lettuce is a cool season crop that doesn’t like summer heat. Ditto for spinach, aragula and swiss chard. Cabbage and Kale will also be successful if planted as seedlings in early fall.

Lettuce and other leaf crops can be sown indoors or seeded directly in soil outdoors. For indoor growing, sow seeds in moist growing medium and in two weeks they will be ready to plant outdoors. If seeding directly into garden soil, prepare the soil by removing weeds and raking the seed bed smooth.

Because lettuce seeds are reluctant to sprout when temperatures are hot, it may be helpful to shade the seed row with wooden planks. Within a few weeks, seedlings will be a few inches high and can be transplanted for spacing 2 or 3 inches apart. Lettuce will be ready to harvest 45 days from seeding. Spinach will take a few weeks longer.

September’s cool nights and moist soil make good conditions for splitting and transplanting perennials. Moving perennials in fall makes good sense because you know the heights, types, colours and locations of all your plants. For transplanting, carefully spade around the plant and lift it to its new location. Dig the new hole, place the plant at the same depth as previously planted, and place it in the hole. Backfill with good garden soil and water well.

For splitting, dig the root clump and set it in the garden or on the lawn. Use a large knife or sharp spade to cut the roots into 3 or 4 parts. Set the plants in a prepared hole, backfill and water thoroughly.

Fall is the ideal time to sow grass seed. Cool evenings followed by morning dew will encourage seed to grow quickly and evenly. If you want to rejuvenate weak patches in your lawn, I recommend spreading a thin layer of screened topsoil or growing medium over the bare sections before sowing seed. Use a blended seed mix suited for your soil and light conditions.

If conditions are favourable, you should see seed begin to sprout within two weeks, and you will see good green coverage in three or four weeks. Cut the grass once it is 2 or 3 inches high. After the grass has been cut twice, you can fertilize at half strength with a turf starter fertilizer blend.