Here’s a landscape and garden to-do list for the month of September:
WHAT TO PLANT
Annuals/Bedding plants: If your summer beds need refreshing, try ageratum, coleus, celosia, zinnia, and wax begonia for color into fall.
Herbs: You can plant herbs that tolerate the warm temperatures of early fall, such as Mexican tarragon, mint, rosemary, and basil.
Vegetables: It is hot, but numerous cool-season (as well as warm-season) crops can be planted.
- Easily transplant: arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, eggplant, endive, kale, lettuce, peppers, strawberry, sugarcane, strawberry, Swiss chard, tomatoes, and tropical spinaches.
- Transplant with care: celery, mustard, pineapple, and spinach.
- Use seeds: beans (bush, lima, pole), carrots, cucumbers, onions (bunching), radish, squashes, and turnips.
WHAT TO DO
Lawn problems: Continue to monitor the lawn for signs of insect damage. Fall armyworms, chinch bugs, mole crickets, and sod webworms are still active this month.
Irrigation: Check that your irrigation systems are providing good coverage and operating properly before the summer rains taper off.
Citrus: Fertilize your citrus trees with a balanced fertilizer either this month or in October. If the weather has been rainy, do not use soluble nitrogen as rains will leach it from the soil too quickly.
Fertilizer Bans: Some municipalities in Florida prohibit the application of fertilizer to lawns and/or landscape plants during the summer rainy season (June–September). See if such an ordinance exists in your area.
Vegetable gardens: Prepare your fall vegetable garden if you didn’t already do it in August. Using transplants from your local garden center will get the garden off to a fast start, but seeds can provide a wider variety from which to choose.
Source: University of Florida IFAS Extension (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/)
