New Albany Garden Center
5211 Johnstown Road New Albany, OH 43054 | p: 614-917-1020 | f: 614-917-1023
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For the New Albany, Ohio area, late August into early fall is an excellent time to prepare the yard for cooler weather. Central Ohio typically has cool-season lawns and heavy, compacting clay soil, so focus on lawn renovation, watering, and fall cleanup.
The most time-sensitive jobs for right now are aerating and overseeding the lawn, planting fall vegetables, watering new plantings, and preparing beds for spring bulbs. Prioritize aerating and overseeding the lawn, planting fall vegetables, and watering new plantings now, while preparing beds for spring bulbs soon after. Central Ohio lawn and garden calendars recommend late August through early fall for lawn seeding, while local garden guidance emphasizes deep morning watering, fall crops, compost, and avoiding late-season pruning or fertilizing.
Lawn
- Mow regularly, keeping grass around 3–4 inches high during hot weather.
- Water deeply in the morning when the lawn shows stress—footprints that remain visible or grass that is losing color. Avoid frequent, shallow watering.
- Aerate compacted areas, especially where water pools or the soil is hard.
- Overseed thin or bare areas immediately after aerating, ideally from late August through September.
- Apply a fall lawn fertilizer in early fall and again later in the season; avoid heavy summer fertilizing.
- Repair bare spots near sidewalks, driveways, downspouts, and heavily traveled areas.
- Keep mower blades sharp and leave fine grass clippings on the lawn.
- Remove excessive thatch if the layer near the soil surface is more than about half an inch.
- Check thinning or brown areas for grubs, disease, or compacted soil before treating them.
- Keep leaves from accumulating heavily on the lawn once fall leaf drop begins.
Vegetable garden
- Continue harvesting tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, and herbs frequently.
- Remove diseased or unproductive plants rather than leaving them in the garden.
- Plant fall crops such as:
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Radishes
- Kale
- Swiss chard
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Green onions
- Keep newly planted seeds consistently moist until they germinate.
- Pull weeds before they produce seeds.
- Add a thin layer of compost around established vegetables, but avoid piling it against stems.
- Harvest onions and garlic when their tops dry and fall over.
- Harvest pumpkins, gourds, and winter squash before a hard frost.
- Clean up fallen fruit and rotting vegetables to reduce pest and disease problems.
- Consider planting a winter cover crop, such as annual rye, in unused garden beds.
Flowers and perennials
- Deadhead annuals and perennials that have finished flowering but avoid excessive late-season pruning.
- Stop fertilizing roses, trees, shrubs, and perennials in September so they can begin preparing for winter.
- Divide and transplant spring-blooming perennials such as iris, daylilies, hostas, and peonies when conditions are cooler.
- Plant spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths in October or November.
- Replace tired annuals in containers with mums, pansies, ornamental kale, or other cool-season plants.
- Continue watering newly planted flowers and perennials during dry periods.
- Leave some seed heads standing for birds and winter interest.
- Remove diseased foliage and dispose of it rather than adding it to a cool compost pile.
Trees and Shrubs
- Water newly planted trees and shrubs deeply during dry weather.
- Pay special attention to evergreens, such as arborvitae and yews, which need adequate moisture before winter.
- Inspect plants for powdery mildew, leaf spot, webworms, scale, aphids, and other pests.
- Remove dead, broken, or diseased branches.
- Avoid major pruning of healthy trees and shrubs in late summer and early fall; it can encourage tender new growth before winter.
- Add 2–3 inches of mulch around trees and shrubs, keeping it several inches away from trunks and stems.
- Check young trees for staking or ties that are too tight.
- Remove fallen, diseased leaves beneath fruit trees and shrubs.
Visit us at Oakland Nursery – New Albany, and we can assist you with all of your gardening needs.
Oakland INSIDE & OUT Specialty Store
5211-B Johnstown Road New Albany, OH 43054 | p: 614-573-8648
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