09/16/2026
At the ODVGC meeting on Sept. 10, Serena Starzyk spoke about "putting your garden to bed in the Fall." A very timely subject for sure! From Cornell Cooperative Extension, she used her Master Gardener knowledge to teach club members about the needs of the Fall garden. A goal is to reduce the garden workload next Spring. Let's review just a few of the many steps and ideas she presented.
Before your garden cleanup starts, for example, take photos, and mark locations of plants that disappear in the Winter. Then, start your cleanup after plants naturally decline or after the first killing frost.
With regard to vegetables- about which we learned a lot- some of us didn't know that some vegetables- such as beans and peas- can help the earth when they are cut at soil level. This leaves the bottom stem parts to feed nitrogen into the soil. And remember- always plan for crop rotation so each crop takes different nutrients.
If you have overcrowded perennials, some like iris bulbs can be divided, a step some of us neglect. Also, remember to remove seeds to save and leave selected seed heads for the birds and to self-sow.
Shrubs, trees and hedges also need attention in the Fall. Remove dead, damaged or crossing branches, suckers and storm-damaged limbs but don't do heavy shaping which can stress the plant! Also, it's best to leave evergreen's lower branches unpruned as they shelter the root zone.
Ms. Starzyk also described the best use of compost, which by the way can be piled into layers with brown leaves and dry stems at the bottom, topped off with green material.
She suggested we all read Dutchess Dirt, the newsletter of the Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Now that our gardens will be ready for Fall as we follow our speaker's suggestions (only a few are mentioned here), we will be ready for our next speakers. On October 8, Linda Lawson will lead an activity using decoupage to decorate pumpkins. On November 12, Theresa Burke will lead an activity using gourds to make into birdhouses.
Later in the Fall, Theresa Burke and Linda Lawson will lead a crew to create a tree display near Yum Yum's in Red Hook Village, an annual tradition.
Join us at our meetings, usually the second Thursday of each month, at 12:30 pm, St. John's Reformed Church, Upper Red Hook. Happy gardening!
