During this beautiful, hot summer in Flagstaff, it’s hard to think about fall. But when it comes to your flourishing garden, taking a few steps now will keep it that way in the coming months. There are some certain vegetable plants and flowers that do fairly well in the fall and will even start to bloom around then, leaving you with a plentiful fall garden. The change of season does not mean you have to lose the garden you worked so hard to cultivate in the spring.
When it comes to gardening in the summer and preparing for fall, continuing to mulch is fairly important to keep your plants from getting too dry. Mulching will keep out weeds, pests and preserves more moisture in order to keep you from watering as often. Doing this consistently enough keeps your garden much healthier and gives it much more staying power when the conditions become too hot in July and August, and possibly too cold in the fall months after. Also, keeping up on weeding and general maintenance is very important. Just because your garden is no longer too young to fend for itself, it can still be affected by intrusive weeds and insects if you were to let it get out of hand. Making sure to also deadhead all of your plants (cutting off the dead flowers of all of your plants) not only keeps your garden healthy but also looking much more attractive. While many people start to fall down on upkeep towards the end of summer, all of these practices should be put into play throughout spring, summer and fall in order to keep your garden as healthy as it can be.
Flagstaff planting favorites are often perennials. The amount of plants and shrubs available as a Flagstaff gardener is quite limited, and perennials are a good investment since they come back two years in a row and don’t require as much attention and care as many other plants. A few popular perennials for higher elevations are Blue Balm, Coral Bell, Delphinium, Dogwood, Lavender and many others. While this is something you would think about and plant in spring, these plants should all be a consideration for your garden next spring if they aren’t already. If you are a vegetable gardener, planting early-blooming broccoli, carrots, turnips, lettuce and radishes in mid-summer will give you a variety of vegetables to enjoy from your fall garden. Having a flourishing fall garden does not start when those months roll around. Instead, planting the correct sorts of flowers and vegetables in late spring and in the summer months will keep you from having a disappointing fall garden.
When it comes to planning for your garden, one must keep in mind all of the weather changes Flagstaff can go through from spring until fall. The most important thought that must always be in the back of a gardener’s mind is to plan ahead and keep up on maintenance. It is not incredibly difficult to keep a healthy garden going until it is simply too cold for a garden to survive. While there is still a lot of summer to go, it is never too early to plan ahead to keep the garden alive that brings so much life and color to your home. FBN
By Mike Brackin