Fall and Winter Garden Tips

Fall is a good time to prepare the garden for the winter months. The last thing you probably want to think about during winter is gardening, so let’s get it done before it gets miserably cold! Weed control in the fall is very important in flowerbeds, groundcovers, shrubs and bare ground areas. Apply Vegetable & Ornamental Weeder prior to fall rains and these areas will be weed-free until next spring. Who wants to pull weeds in the winter? In those bare areas where weed growth has already begun, mix Vegetable & Ornamental Weeder with Remuda® to kill existing growth. This will cover both preemergence and postemergence weed control in one application. Vegetable & Ornamental Weeder prevents weed seed germination for up to 6 months! If you haven’t put down Vegetable & Ornamental Weeder and weeds have already become a problem in your garden, Remuda® and other glyphosate products can be used, but work very slowly in the low temperatures. For lawn areas, there are many hard-to-kill winter weeds this time of year. Spurge Power is a product that is perfect for controlling broadleaf weeds in your turf. Take care of these lawn weeds now so your lawn can get off to a good start next spring. If you have any lingering insects around the house it’s a good time to clean up those spiders, ants, etc. Bug Buster II is designed just for this job. Apply around the house, patio, or under the eaves to prevent insects from overwintering in these areas. The fall and winter months are also the ideal time to treat deciduous fruit trees to control leaf curl, brown rot and other diseases that appear in the spring. Liqui-Cop and Monterey Fungi-Max Brand are both products that provide excellent protection from these diseases. Make these applications in fall and winter while the fruit trees are dormant. These fungicides can also be combined with Monterey Horticultural Oil to control the overwintering of mites, scale and aphids and their eggs. If you’re looking for an OMRI listed organic fungicide for disease control try Monterey Complete Disease Control. This preventative biofungicide controls powdery mildew, downy mildew, pythium, blight, black spot and many other diseases on vegetables, fruits, nuts, ornamental trees, shrubs and houseplants. When used as a drench, this product colonizes plant roots to prevent establishment of disease- causing fungi and bacteria That’s it for your fall gardening chores! Get these done early and you can enjoy the holidays and look forward to a great springtime garden!