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When the weather begins to cool off in September, it's time to start gradually decreasing the frequency of our watering until we're watering deeply, but not more than once every eight to 10 days when the watering season ends in October.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Tree fruits like peaches, pears and apples aren't all ready to harvest at the same time. Return to your fruit tree two or three times to harvest fruit at its best quality.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Systemic weed killers can be very effective when applied in the fall. Perennial weeds are pulling their carbohydrates down into their root systems for winter storage and chemicals may more easily move down along with the carbohydrates.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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The 2025 Master Gardener Course registration is now open!

Would you like to improve your gardening skills, learn more about how plants and soils work together or find better ways to manage pests in your landscape? If so, the Utah County Master Gardener Course is the place for you.

Classes begin on Jan. 21, 2025, and continue through March 18.

The classes meet each Tuesday and Thursday during the course, with an afternoon section from 1-3:30 p.m. and an evening section from 6-8:30 p.m. All the classes will be available virtually, and some will also be available in person, but those classes will also be broadcast virtually as well.

Choose the sections that works best for you; the same class content is covered in the afternoon and evening classes on the same day. Come learn and grow with us as you make new friends, learn lots of amazing things, gain new skills, appreciate your yard and garden from a new perspective, and get involved in cool gardening projects in the area.

Registration is open to anyone who would like to participate in the course. However, the purpose of the Master Gardener program is to develop trained volunteers who provide Utah communities with unbiased, research-based horticultural education and technical assistance in gardening and home horticulture. You’ll receive 17 class sessions of college-level lectures and hands-on training workshops taught by Utah State University Extension faculty and industry professionals.

In addition to the classwork, students who wish to become a certified master gardener must provide a minimum of 40 hours of approved volunteer service back to their community.

To register for the Master Gardener Course, visit https://tinyurl.com/7cdnvscw.

Today, we’re sharing some timely tips for our current Master Gardener class members.

Timely tips for September

1. Start your fall garden cleanup while you do the final harvest of each summer crop. Cleaning up after each crop as it winds down instead of leaving everything in the garden until everything dies after the first frost will prevent having to do a large garden cleanup all at once at the end of the season. These crops might include potatoes, summer carrots, tomatoes, beans and other crops that have reached full maturity or are slowing down as temperatures begin to drop.

2. Many perennials can be divided during the fall. This is especially important for crowded perennials. Remove any dead annuals or perennials as you notice them.

3. Check grapes frequently and harvest them as they mature for fresh eating or juicing and preserving. Don’t leave surplus clusters on the vines to over-ripen and attract pests.

4. Fall raspberries, peaches, pears, apples and other fall fruits don’t all ripen at the same time. Plan on picking each crop more than once to get the best quality from the entire harvest.

5. With the weather cooling off, start to gradually cut back on the frequency of your lawn watering but continue to water deeply when you do water. You may also be able to mow less frequently.

6. Begin planning and purchasing your tubers, corms and bulbs to plant in October for spring flowers.

7. September is a good time to plant fruit trees or any new trees or shrubs. The weather is milder and less stressful for newly transplanted woody plants. You can also take advantage of end-of-season nursery sales.

8. Plant fast-growing fall crops in early September such as radishes, lettuces and some short season peas for harvests into October. Be prepared to provide frost protection just in case we have a sudden cold snap.

9. Mid- to late September is a good time to apply a lawn weed control product to manage perennial weeds in your lawn. Also, apply a fall nitrogen fertilizer to lawns near the end of the month to give the grass a good start in the spring.

10. Early September is a good time to reseed or overseed a worn, thin or tired lawn if needed. This gives the grass seedlings adequate time to mature enough to tolerate freezing weather over the winter.

11. In late September, prune shrubs that bloomed during the summer.

12. Continue to water the garden beds deeply but infrequently into October until your approaching frost date.