Late Summer, First Hints of Fall

After several weeks of hot, dry weather, the rain we got this past weekend couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s easy to think of rain as simply “free watering,” but it does much more than that.

Rainwater is naturally soft and very low in dissolved minerals, so roots absorb both water and nutrients more easily. Unlike a lot of municipal water, it doesn’t build up salts in your containers — and a good soaking rain actually helps flush excess fertilizer salts out of the potting mix. That’s one reason hanging baskets seem to perk up after a steady rain. A slow soak also penetrates deeper than most sprinklers, encouraging trees, shrubs, and perennials to build stronger roots. After the dry stretch we’ve had across central Indiana, it was exactly what many gardens needed.

As much as we love summer, it’s hard not to look ahead. The first hints of fall are showing up at the greenhouse — the early mums are coloring up, new crops are filling the houses, and before long summer annuals will start sharing the spotlight with late-season color, ornamental grasses, and the mums that make autumn in Indiana so special.

This week’s lineup:

· Japanese beetles explained — why they swarm one plant and skip another
· Choosing the right zinnia for a cut flower garden
· Why a healthy-looking vegetable plant still isn’t making fruit