Connecticut Garden Journal

As the temperatures dip, it's time bring some of your favorite herbs indoors. Some of the best herbs to move inside to grow and cook with include parsley, rosemary, geraniums, chives, thyme and oregano.

The advantage of bringing a mature, potted herb plant indoors is it will continue to send out shoots and leaves into November. If you grow it under grow lights, it will continue into winter.

First, harden off your herbs in a cooler, outdoor location with less light for about one week. Spray insecticidal soap or Neem oil to kill hitch hiking insects. Bring the plants indoors to grow in a sunny window away from cold drafts and reduce watering.

Annual herbs, such as basil, can also come indoors, but unless you have grow lights, the leaf production will quickly slow down. It's best to enjoy this herb for a month or so before composting it. Parsley is a good indoor herb, but will form flowers in spring. Compost this plant once flower stalks form. Chives will benefit from periodic cutting of their shoots and will continue to send up new shoots in fall and in spring. Scented geraniums, rosemary, thyme and oregano are perennials and easy to grow in a sunny window. If you don't have room for your big pots, take cuttings from the mother plant to root. Take a 4- to 6-inch long cutting. Remove the bottom leaves and dip the cut end in a rooting hormone powder. Stick it in a pot filled with moistened potting soil. Place in a bright area out of the sun. Check after a month or so for roots.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fall is for asters. Asters are reliable native plants that give us color in our autumn gardens. But there are other natives that are equally as beautiful and trouble-free. One of the best is boltonia.

Boltonia, or false aster, is related to asters. It features plants that grow 5- to 6- feet tall with white, pink or lavender colored flowers. Like asters, they flower in full or part sun in August and September.

While asters are clumping plants that slowly enlarge over time, Boltonia is a rhizomatous plant that spreads by underground roots. This makes boltonia a favorite meadow, slope and cottage garden plant. The species version, Boltonia asteroides, is the most aggressive spreader and care should be given where it's plant. This species type is best planted in meadows or wild areas.

For perennial flower gardens, select some of the less aggressive varieties. 'Snowmound' is a white flowered type that is more compact only growing 3- to 4- feet tall. 'Pink Beauty' is a pink colored version and 'Jim Crockett' has lavender colored blooms on 2 -foot tall plants.

Boltonia likes well-drained soils on the dry side and does well in clay. It is drought tolerant, once established, but will also thrive in wetter soils as well. Divide plants every 3- to 4- years in spring.

Boltonia is a pollinator favorite often visited by butterflies, bees and other insects. It has few problems. In part shade areas it may need staking to not flop and sometimes can get powdery mildew. But otherwise it's deer and rabbit proof and a delightful fall flower for your garden.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're looking for some color this fall in your perennial flower garden, certainly mums are always a nice addition. But here is a carefree, native perennial to grow for fall color and food for the pollinators.

Helenium has the unfortunate common name of sneezeweed because it blooms when ragweed is flowering. It's the ragweed that causes the allergic reactions, not Helenium. This hardy, aster-family perennial grows in the wild in meadowy, damp areas. But it will shine in your full sun, flower garden as well. It grows 3- to 5-feet tall with hat-shaped, small flowers in yellow, orange or burgundy colored clusters that cover the plant when in full bloom. We grow the Mariachi series variety 'Salsa' for the colorful red flowers and long bloom period. There also is a dwarf selection named 'Short N Sassy'.

Because of its penchant for moist soil, Helenium is tolerant of seasonal flooding and makes a good rain garden plant. Helenium is also not a favorite of deer, rabbits or woodchucks because of the bitter tasting foliage.

Plant tall varieties of Helenium in the back of the flower garden to compliment other fall bloomers such as Joe Pye weed, boltonia and tall rudbeckia. Grow shorter Helenium varieties to compliment asters and sedums. Helenium is also a favorite of butterflies and pollinators, so mix it into your pollinator garden as well.

Helenium is a clumping perennial, so is well behaved, not spreading quickly. However, after 3- to 4-years the clump gets large and will benefit from dividing. Divide Helenium in spring making smaller, new plants to grow in other parts of your yard.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's apple and pear season and time to start harvesting. Actually some varieties are already ripe, but most will be harvested this month. If you're growing apples or pears in your yard, going to a pick your own orchard or just foraging for wild trees, it's good to know when to harvest. If you harvest too early the flavor isn't great. If you wait too long, the texture can be mealy or mushy. Pears are unusual because they should be picked when ripe, but still hard, to finish ripening indoors.

Here's some tips to harvest apples and pears. First, try to remember the variety you're growing. There are early, mid and late season varieties that will naturally ripen at different times. This will help you know when to start checking. Check the background color of the fruit. Many varieties will turn red in fall, but it's the background coloring that you need to check. When it goes from a green to more yellow, the fruit is probably ripe.

Of course, if there are fruit on the ground, that's a sign of ripeness. Also, gently lift the fruit so its horizontal. Twist and give it a slight tug. If the fruit comes off easily, go head and pick. Fruits on the outside of the tree canopy will ripen sooner than those in the center of the tree, so don't feel like you have to pick them all at a once.

Finally, if you have lots of fruits, pick one and cut it in half. If the seeds inside are brown, then it's ripe. If they are still light colored, wait.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've had a rough year battling Japanese beetles, now is the time to control them. Many gardeners are familiar with Japanese beetle adults that cause damage to many flowers, vegetables and fruits.

While there are chemical controls for these and other ground dwelling beetles, there are effective ecologically friendly controls as well. Remember only 1 per cent of the insects in your yard are ones that will cause significant damage to your plants.

One of the best controls attacks the Japanese beetle not when it's an adult, but at the c-shaped, cream colored grub or larval stage in the soil. It's at this stage that it's most vulnerable. If you can kill the grubs, you'll have fewer adults next year. There are a few products that are safe for the environment and effective.

Beneficial nematodes are microscopic, worm-like creatures that parasitize or prey on the grubs. Spray the nematodes now on the lawn and soil areas where the adults were feeding this summer. That's where most of the larvae are located. Water the area well and keep the soil moist for a number of days so the nematodes can travel to prey on the grubs. The nematodes don't overwinter so need to be sprayed annually in early or late summer.

The other product in milky spore powder. This is a bacteria that has been used since the 1940s to control Japanese beetle grubs and it only attacks this type of grub. This powder or granule works best in areas with high concentrations of grubs, such as 10 to 12 grubs per square foot. With fewer grubs, it is not as effective.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the trends I've noticed in our region is longer and warmer falls. This is an opportunity to garden more and now is the time to start planting quick maturing, cool weather loving veggies.

The easiest veggie to grow for a fall harvest is greens. Spinach, lettuce, arugula, escarole, kale and Swiss chard can all be sown now from seed or purchased as seedlings from local nurseries. These veggies have a few advantages. You can start eating them while they're small so you don't have to wait for them to mature. They love the cooler temperatures in September and October. And they can hold well in the garden when the shorter days slow the grow of all plants.

Look for fall or winter adapted varieties to grow, such as 'Winter Giant' spinach, 'Winter Density' lettuce, and 'Winter Bor' kale. They all can take a frost and keep on growing.

Prepare a raised bed in full sun by removing old plants that have finished producing such as squash, cucumbers and tomatoes. Amend the soil with fresh compost and sow seeds or transplants into the soil. You can also start seedlings in pots on a porch and transplant the seedlings in 2 to 3 weeks. Seedlings are more likely to survive than seeds. Cover the whole bed with micro-mesh or a floating row cover to keep pests away and keep the bed warm. Check under the cover regularly to make sure slugs and other critters haven't snuck inside. Harvest when leaves are large enough to eat. Pick the outer leaves so more new leaves will grow from the center.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hot, wet summer has been particularly good for growing melons. Cantaloups, honeydews and watermelons all seem to be enjoying the heat and humidity, more than I am.

Once the melon fruits form and start to grow big, the question always comes up about when to harvest the fruits. So, let's talk about harvesting melons.

The easiest melons to know when to harvest are the muskmelons or cantaloups. These are the netted melons. When the skin netting turns brown and the fruit easily slips off the vine when gently lifted, you can harvest. They also will have a sweet smell. Cantaloups are unique in that you can harvest a little earlier than when fully ripe and they will continue to ripen indoors.

Honeydew melons tend to have a smooth skin. There are many types of honeydews, but most do not continue to ripen after harvest. So, you need to wait until the fruits are fully mature to pick. Signs of a mature honeydew melon include a sweet smell and a change in skin color.

Watermelons are another melon that doesn't continue to ripen after harvest and it can be hard to know when they're fully ripe. The old folklore method is to thump the fruit with your thumb and listen for a hollow sound. That technique takes practice. A more reliable method is to look at the tendril or curlycue closest to the watermelon fruit. When it has dried up, check the watermelon belly. If it's turning a yellowish color, it's time to pick.

After harvest, store melons in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator if you won't be eating them soon.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Late summer is often a time with little color from shrubs in our yard. That's why I love Rose of Sharon.

Rose of Sharon's name is misleading. It's neither from Sharon, Israel or a rose. It's in the mallow family haling from Asia and is the National Flower of Korea. It came to Europe in the 1600's and North America during the colonial era. Thomas Jefferson particularly loved this shrub. This deciduous, hibiscus-family shrub has beautiful, white, pink, red, lavender, blue or bi-colored flowers that bloom now until fall. The flowers are edible and used in making foods and tea.

These shrubs grow 7- to 12- feet tall and make a statement with tons of colorful blooms. The 'Chiffon' series features white, pink, blue, lavender, or red flowers. The ' Pillar' series grows 10 feet tall, but only 4 feet wide, making it a good choice for narrow, side yards. There are dwarf varieties, such as 'Lil Kim' , which grow only 3- to 4- feet tall, and 'Sugar Tip', which is also short with variegated foliage.

Rose of Sharon flowers best in full sun, but can take some afternoon shade. Grow plants in well-drained, fertile soil. Prune in late winter to keep the shrub short and remove errant branches. Rose of Sharon flowers off the new branches formed in spring. Some selections are grafted with a different variety as the rootstock. If your Rose of Sharon magically turns a different color one year, it may be the rootstock is growing and flowering. Rose of Sharon is drought tolerant and deer proof, but remove self sown seedlings in spring.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are few animal pests as clever as the raccoon. With their dextrose hands and feet, they can get into garbage cans, sealed compost bins and gardens with relative ease.

I avoided growing sweet corn for years because of raccoons. Then I thought I'd try popcorn. I figured popcorn doesn't have sweet kernels so the raccoons would leave it alone. That worked for a few years, then they found my patch. As usual, the night before I was ready to harvest they struck, munching only bits out of multiple ears and pulling down the stalks. I've seen similar raids on melons, beans and tree fruits!

So, what to do about raccoons. First of all, don't leave any standing water in your yard such as birdbaths and kiddie swimming pools. Raccoons love to clean their food before eating it.

Most fencing is not going to stop a nimble raccoon. They can scale even a tall wire fence. They can even use their hands to open up chicken wire fences cobbled together around a garden. The best fencing is wire cages with tops that completely cover the planting. Stake the cage down well. Of course, that won't work for my 6 foot tall corn stalks.

So, this year I bought a portable, solar, electric fence kit. By setting it up early around the corn patch, I hope to train the raccoons to stay out. It has a solar panel that charges the wires during the day and a battery to keep it charged at night. I just have to keep weeds and grass from touching the fence. Wish me luck!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One type of perennial flower that I really love is shrub-like perennials. These are plants that quickly grow large in one season and even when they aren't flowering, put on quite a show. The one that's blooming right now is hardy hibiscus.

Hardy hibiscus grows in zones 4 to 9 and is different from the woody, tropical, shrub hibiscus. The hardy hibiscus is a perennial, but dies back to the ground each winter. That doesn't stop it from being a showpiece! The 8-inch diameter, colorful flowers appear on shrubs that can grow 3- to 6- feet tall. The colors range from pure white to deep red in the 'Luna' series. This series only grows 2- to 3- feet tall. There are varieties with burgundy colored leaves as well such as 'Midnight Marvel' and 'Evening Rose'. There are bi-colored varieties, such as the pink and red 'Perfect Storm', and even a light yellow colored variety called 'French Vanilla'.

For best flowering, plant in full sun on well-drained, moist soil. Add compost in spring once the plants emerge and keep plants well weeded. The plants die back to the ground in fall, but leave the stems into winter as beneficial insects sometimes overwinter in them. Cut back the stems in spring and be patient. The new shoots are often slow to emerge from the ground.

Hardy hibiscus has few pests, but the hibiscus sawfly can defoliate leaves in late spring. Check for these small caterpillars on the underside of the leaves and handpick them or spray with an organic product such as Spinosad, in the evening when bees aren't active.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.