Weekend Gardener: Growing Big Pumpkins and other Fall Tasks

Our garden expert Laura Stone of in West Tisbury has the following ideas for what to do in your garden this weekend:

If you've been trying to grow a very large pumpkin, for an end-of-the-summer fair or Halloween, early August is the time to do some pruning and fertilizing. Start by taking off all but one or two pumpkins from the vine. Pinch the ends off the vines to encourage development of the fruit already set on the vines.

Clean up fallen rose and peony leaves. They can harbor disease and insect pests over the winter if allowed to remain on the ground.

Pick summer squash and zucchini every day or two to keep the plants producing.

Remove old plants which have stopped producing to eliminate a shelter for insects and disease organisms.

Many herbs self-sow if the flowers are not removed. Dill produce seeds that fall around the parent plant and come up as volunteers the following spring.

Try and Enjoy this last week of August and all that your garden is giving you...  colder weather willl be here before we know it :)