KATHY’S HOME & GARDEN TIPS – Seasons are changing

We are now in mid- September and despite the rather warm weather lately cooler weather is right around the corner. We can take advantage of the good weather now to prepare for the coming winter.

The garden mainly needs cleaning and soil prep. By now most of our vegetable plants are about spent. Remove these completely and dispose according to your city or village guidelines. I don’t recommend composting vegetable plants because there can be diseases or pests you might not have even noticed. Remove as many weeds as you can and loosely turn over the soil. Cover the entire garden with a one-inch layer of good compost. Over the winter this will mix with the existing soil.

The lawn is probably a little ragged after the long hot summer but there are some things we can do to improve it for now and assure a good start in the spring. Get yourself a dethatching rake. Do a section of the lawn every day. This is tough work and a small section per day is probably all you’ll be able to handle. You will be surprised at how much dead grass and weeds you’ll pull up. This is literally choking your lawn. Add top soil and grass seed. Water every day till the seed sprouts then every other day. Cooler weather is ideal for grass growth. There is ample time for the grass to fully establish before winter.

Water trees and bushes deeply and frequently before the ground freezes. In our area while we are nowhere near drought, rain has been little and not really sufficient. A good fall two-day soak is really needed. So we’ve been leaving the hose trickle on a different tree and shrub daily. Trim trees and bushes just enough to keep them tidy and to prevent too much snow accumulation. Also make sure mulch is not packed tightly against the trunks. Trees and shrubs need to breathe. Too much mulch encourages insects, disease and can also harbor pests like mice.

A word of caution to pet dog owners. Even in the city, the alleys and some garages and back yards are home to many creatures usually just found in the woods. Raccoons, possums and unfortunately skunks are especially active this time of year. They are feeding as much as possible to get through the winter. While these creatures will mostly not bother you if left alone they can be extremely dangerous when cornered. We all know what skunks can do but even cute animals like raccoons can be ferocious! Always check the yard before letting the dogs out. Use a motion sensor light. The last thing you want is a dog skunked or chewed up by a possum.

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO