Begin to reduce watering in the garden and lawn, except in newly seeded areas. This prepares plants for winter dormancy.
Gardening Tasks by Month for Collingwood, ON
Gardening Tips
Collingwood, ON
Water & Feed
Flowers, Vegetables, Fruit & Herbs, Trees & Shrubs, Lawn
Do not fertilize annuals. Cut back annuals when they finish flowering.
Plant any perennials. Divide and replant overcrowded perennial beds. Remember to apply a layer of organic matter to the new bed.
Save the seeds from your self-pollinating flowers, such as marigolds, cosmos, or coneflowers, to plant next spring by drying them and storing them in closed containers.
Be sure to throw away any fallen fruit to help keep away any unwanted pests from your yard.
Harvest brussels sprouts and parsnips once they’ve been exposed to frost.
Watch for frost forecasts. Harvest tomatoes before the first killing frost. Ripen indoors away from sunlight.
Potatoes are ready for harvest when their tops begin to turn brown.
Don’t trim iris leaves into scallops or fan shapes after the flowers fade. Leaves carry on photosynthesizing and are necessary for fueling next year’s growth. Just trim off browning leaf tips and remove the flowering stalk down to the rhizome. If you’re dividing irises, cut the leaves back by about half just before you move them.
Prune & Maintain
Flowers
Aerate your lawn if the soil is compacted. Have your soil tested to see if you need lawn fertilizer.
Prune & Maintain
Lawn
Transplant trees, shrubs, and rosebushes.
Prune & Maintain
Trees & Shrubs
Fertilize your lawn. Lawns fertilized in the fall are better equipped to survive the winter. Reseed in bare patches.
Water & Feed
Lawn
Young trees should be staked to prevent the roots from being pulled by fall and winter winds.
Prune & Maintain
Trees & Shrubs
If you haven’t brought your houseplants in yet, do it before you have to start heating your home. This gives them a chance to adjust. Check and wash them thoroughly before bringing them in to rid them of any pests and eggs. A quick spray with organic insecticidal soap helps too.
Prune & Maintain
Houseplants
Fall is the best time to start lawn grasses from seed. Till the soil before sowing and provide several light waterings each week.
Plant & Sow
Lawn
In emptied vegetable gardens, consider planting cover crops such as buckwheat or annual rye that will protect the soil until you’re ready to plant again.
Plant & Sow
General Garden
Dig up your rosemary, basil, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, English thyme, parsley, and chives to grow them inside as houseplants. Keep them in a cool, sunny spot, and allow the soil to dry out before watering. Snip off the leaves as needed in the kitchen, but do not strip them completely.
Plant & Sow
Vegetables, Fruit & Herbs
Be sure to keep harvesting your fruit and vegetables so that the upcoming frost does not destroy them.
Harvest
Vegetables, Fruit & Herbs
Plant new trees and shrubs. Fall planting gives new roots plenty of time to establish before the spring.
Plant & Sow
Trees & Shrubs
Transplant rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries well before the first light frost so that some root development may take place. Rhubarb and strawberries deplete the soil of nutrients in a short time, so find new locations for them every three or four years.
Prune & Maintain
Vegetables, Fruit & Herbs
