TOP 5 AUTUMN ORGANIC GARDENING TIPS

1. I love the fall gardening season due to the myriad late season interest plants.  Autumn is a time to reflect on ones yearly gardening endeavors, enjoy the explosion of brilliant fall foliage/fruit colors and prepare for an even better garden season next year.  To keep your lawn and gardens healthy and resilient against pest problems, an October organic fertilization application is ideal. If your lawn is looking sparse, fertilization will help to thicken the density of your lawn.  Marvin’s Organic Gardens uses a well rounded 8-3-3 poultry manure and sea kelp based organic fertilizer that can be applied to all lawns and most landscape plants.  One 50 pound bag of our custom blended fertilizer will cover 5000 square feet of yard and garden area.
   
   
2. Fall is the best time to over seed a sparse lawn.  For an existing lawn, a slit seeder works well to aerate and loosen soil, remove lawn thatch, as well as planting the grass seed directly into the ground (even in our tough soils).  These slit seeding machines can be rented or we can provide the service for you.  Over seeding not only helps to thicken a lawn, but also reduces weeds by crowding them out.  Just remember to cut the grass short prior to seed slicing, and do not cut it for 3 to 4 weeks after seeding to ensure positive germination.  Apply a thin layer of compost a top your lawn prior to seeding and your lawn will germinate much faster and have better disease resistance.
   
   
3. Autumn is the perfect season to plant your spring blooming bulbs.  What better way to increase your early to late spring garden interest than by planting drifts of beautiful bulbs.  Most of us think of tulips and daffodils when it comes to spring blooming bulbs, but Marvin’s Gardens carries many unique selections such as the deer resistant Alliums as well as Frittilaria, Arum, Anemone, Crocus, Liliums, Galanthus and Hyacinths.  Naturalizing your bulbs is a unique way to grow them to look like wild flowers in grasslands or woodlands, or other areas that can tolerate not being mowed until April.  Most of the bulbs mentioned above can tolerate these conditions.  After planting the bulbs, backfill each hole with compost for optimum bloom power. Marvin’s Organic Gardens would love to help install your very own spring blooming bulbs this fall.    
   
   
4. October and November are ideal months for tree and shrub planting.  By planting now you can provide your woody plants with 8 full months to establish before the heat of summer hits again.  Because the soils are cooler and typically more moist, you will not have to water those shrubs and trees as much as you would in other seasons.  The lessen transplant shock, dig a hole twice the size of the root ball and backfill with 75% compost and 25% native clay soil.  Be sure to pack the compost/soil mix around your plants with hands or feet to remove any air pockets that soil clods may have formed when planting.
   
   
5. Our nursery is now brimming with bright fall hues of red, burgundy, orange, yellow and even pink.  If your gardens lacks fall interest, now is the time to visit Marvin’s Organic Gardens to select shrubs and trees with great autumn attributes.  Don’t stop at fall foliage color though.  Select your trees and shrubs for attractive fruit, form and unique bark coloration as well.  Some of our favorite shrubs for fall are: oakleaf hydrangea, purple beautyberry, winterberry holly, Fothergilla, Diervilla, Kerria, summersweet, evergreen barberry and redtwig dogwood.  Some of our favorite tree for fall interest are: smooth sumac, Ginkgo, flowering dogwood, paper bark maple, American fringe tree, winterberry euonymus, Persian Parrot Tree and Japanese Stewartia.