DATE:    10/14/99
CONTACT: Kathyrn White, (864) 942-8590  
EDITOR:  Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876
    
Fall Gardening, An Excuse to Go Outside
    
     CLEMSON -- Fall is in the air. The long, hot summer has been
replaced with cool, crisp mornings. The cooler temperatures have
revived not only our gardens but also the gardeners tending them. 
     If the cooler weather has you looking for some excuses to
get outside, here are a few garden tasks that can help.
     Expand your hosta or daylily bed. Now is a good time to
divide what you have. To divide, gently lift the plants out of
the ground and pull the new plants apart, or you can use a knife 
to separate the specimens.
     Plant a winter lawn. Now is prime planting time for cool
season lawns. Water the seedlings daily until the grass is one to
two inches high.
     Save your mandevilla vine. Cut the stems back to about a
foot tall, put the plant in a container, and bring it inside. Be
sure to place it in a bright, sunny location.
     Attract migrating birds to your home. Migrating birds will
be looking for places to stop along their journey. To attract
them to your yard, keep your bird feeders well stocked and the
birdbath filled with fresh water.
     Plant fall vegetables. Plant onion sets now until 
mid-November; garlic cloves and fast maturing vegetables such as
garden cress, turnips, radishes, mustards and spinach during 
the first three weeks of the month.
     Harvest sweet potatoes, herbs for drying, pecans for holiday
treats and pumpkins and winter squash when the skin is hard.
     Save your green tomatoes. If some green tomatoes are still
hanging on the vine, pick them, wrap them individually in
newspaper and store them in a cool, dry area. Be sure to check on
them occasionally, because they will slowly ripen in storage.
     Pick up fallen leaves. After all of the leaves have fallen
from your rose bushes, remove the mulch, and replace it with
fresh organic matter.
     Sprinkle seeds of larkspur, poppies and sweet peas. These
cool-loving flowers do not mind winter cold spells and will bloom
for you next spring.
     Rake up debris from around your fruit trees. Removing spent
leaves and rotten fruit from underneath the tree will help to
prevent spreading disease to next year's crop.
     Plant new trees and shrubs. Planting in the fall gives the
plant time to establish a strong root system before the heat of
summer can put the plant into drought stress.
     Plant spring flowering bulbs. Crocus, daffodils and tulips
signal the arrival of spring, but you need to plant the bulbs
this fall.
     Dig up summer bulbs. Tender bulbs like caladiums, elephant
ears and dahlias can be killed when we have a harsh winter. Dig
the bulbs and store them in a cool, dry area that is protected
from frost and freezing temperatures. -- Kathryn White, Clemson
Extension agent in Greenwood County.
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    If you have questions or comments on gardening-related
issues, write to PSA News & Publications, Box 340129, A-101 
Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.
29634-0129. You might also want to look for other "Buds and 
Blooms" columns under 1999 News Releases at:
www.clemson.edu/agcomm .
                            END