Fall Gardening Festival - Week 4

Garden Chores for Fall

A quick check list of garden chores for September through December.

Tips for Great Gardening

From pruning to planting, these tips will help you get your garden ready now for spring planting.

Tuck in Your Lawn for Winter

By: Rebekah Eastep, askHRgreen.org Team Member

The popularity of gardening and landscaping has exploded during the coronavirus pandemic. Limited in their activities, residents have turned to tomatoes, herbs and butterfly gardens to pass the time and calm their anxiety. But cooler days are on the horizon, and soon we will need to tuck in our lawns and gardens for a long winter's nap.
As we say goodbye to summer veggies and blooms, here are a few ways to prep your yard for autumn:

Leaf it alone. Rake or blow leaves into naturalized areas of your yard and flowerbeds. Fallen leaves create a sheltered, cozy ecosystem for overwintering wildlife and pollinators like turtles, butterflies, frogs, birds, and more.
Mulch mow. This is just a fancy way to say, "Leave the clippings in your yard." This applies to fall leaves too. When mulch mowed, leaves will decompose and boost your yard's soil with beneficial nutrients.
Test your soil. Before you apply fertilizer to your grass, test your soil first. For just $10, you will save time, money and know exactly what amendments are needed. You will also feel good about keeping chemicals out of the environment.
Know your grass. If your soil test reveals your lawn needs additional nutrients, make sure you apply fertilizer at the right time. Fertilize warm season grasses (zoysia grass, Bermuda, St. Augustine) in the spring and cool season grasses (fescue and rye) in the fall.
Keep planting. Fall is a great time to plant perennial trees and shrubs. Cool temps put less stress on a newly transplanted plant and allow it to establish strong roots before the next hot summer. Always consider planting native plants, which require less fuss and have plenty of wildlife benefits. Beautiful plants to consider include black gum trees, witch hazel, spicebush, and sumac.

Featured Videos

Wednesday, October 28 - 7pm

Ask a Master Gardener
VBMG Panelists

This live session gives participants a chance to have their gardening questions answered. Lawns, trees, perennials, plant ID, insects - our panelists can handle them all! Questions can be asked during the live session or submitted ahead of time to vbmgevents@gmail.com.

Join this Talk

Composting in a Bottle
Recycled Paper Projects
Recycled Plastic Projects
Yard "Trash"
Garbage Game
Garden Man Coloring
Recycle Robot Coloring
Recycled Toad Homes
Recycling at Home

Calibrating Lawn Spreaders
Cool Season Lawn Maintenance
Warm Season Lawn Maintenance
Deciduous Tree Pruning Calendar
Evergreen Pruning Calendar
Fall Lawn Care
Indoor Plants
Leave the Leaves
Season Extenders
Shrub Pruning Calendar
Turfgrass Varieties

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From the Community

The Fall Gardening Festival has always been a community event with involvement from local societies, environmental organizations, and educators and we're happy to continue that tradition.

askHRgreen

Hampton Roads Native Plant Guide
Soil Testing Instructions
Wise Outdoor Water Use
Green Education & Virtual Learning
Become a Bay Star Home
Become a Bay Star Business