Oh my, are the kids really back to school already? Now September is flying by. It will soon be Halloween and frost on the pumpkins.
Harvest your Jack-o-lantern candidates and winter squash before a hard freeze penetrates the rind.
Don’t fret if your tomatoes are still green. After they have lost their shiny green color they will still ripen in the house. They don’t have to be in a sunny place. They just need a little more time. The beets and carrots can stay in the ground longer and will sweeten after a frost. However, harvest them before the ground freezes.
It seems strange to be thinking about cold when we have had such a hot summer, but after we have enjoyed the last vintages of the Inland Northwest’s magnificent autumn it will be time to snuggle into warm sweaters and drink hot cocoa.
If I don’t see you in the garden, I may very well see you at a garden center or nursery the next few weeks, as that is where I will be. Lots of good sales this month and next month too, are just too hard to resist.
I find fall planting is also a good time to weed and prepare the garden for winter. Bindweed, Convolvulaceae, a stinker from the morning glory family, has still gotten the best of me. I dug out all I could see and hopefully, I won’t have to look at the ambitious plants again until spring. Bindweed seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to fifty years and roots have been found twenty feet deep. GOOD GRIEF!
Many weeds enjoyed the rains we have had lately. Redroot Pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus, is one I find especially prolific. Though not a noxious weed it is certainly obnoxious. It can grow from about 2 feet to 6 feet tall and its tiny, shiny black seeds can germinate anytime during the growing season when moisture is significant.
If you have weed species with which you are not familiar, Master Gardeners at the WSU Master Gardener Extension office in Spokane offer expertise in identifying actual samples and/or photos from your email.
My heart is heavy from the aftermath of the wildfires in our area.
We don’t have to live in a forest to be affected by wildfire.
The residents of Medical Lake in the town or on a street by the lake, know well Hell’s fury of the fire.
The path of the beast saved or condemned by the whim of the wind.
It consumed trash and treasures alike with no discernment.
Little was spared only gray ash remains.
Loss and despair are the name of its game.
Winter will come on empty lots where houses once stood.
But snow will not cover burnt unrecognizable, irreplaceable treasures.
The city’s once independent souls, now must accept sustenance and refuge.
We must not look away from the devastation.
We have not reached into the ash for our hopes and dreams.
We must lift up our neighbors and hold them.
We must feed and clothe them with compassion as they would do for us.
We must learn from the fire.
Recovering from wildfire includes restoration of land and property.
A helpful publication, Fire-Resistant Plants for Eastern Washington, A Step-by-Step Guide for Choosing the Right Plant from Washington State University Extension is available upon request.
Please contact the WSU Spokane County Master Gardeners
@http://spokane-county.wsu.edu/spokane/
or call 509-477-2181 for more information
Master Gardeners are available at the Cheney Library 1st & 3rd Fridays April to October
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