September in the garden brings Master Gardener visits, planting herbs | Sally Scalera

Sally Scalera
·4 min read

The high temperatures will stick around for a while, so plan your yard work for the cooler times if you can find any.

Here are some activities you may want to add to your to-do lists this month.

Talk to a Master Gardener. Now that summer is officially over, many of the Master Gardener clinics will open again.  If you are new to the area, here is a list of the locations and times the various clinics are held.

We also have Master Gardeners at our office at 3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa, all year, so you can visit them from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Here is a list of Master Gardener clinics:

  • Central Brevard Library, 308 Forrest Ave., Cocoa, 321-779-4004, 1 - 3 p.m. Sundays, open all year.

  • Satellite Beach Library, 751 Jamaica Blvd., Satellite Beach, 321-779-4004, 10 a.m.-noon Mondays, starting Sept. 12.

  • Melbourne Beach Library, 324 Ocean Ave., Melbourne Beach,  321-956-5642, 2-4 p.m. Mondays, opens in mid-October.

  • Merritt Island Library, 1195 N. Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island, 321-455-1369, 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays, Labor Day through Memorial Day.

  • South Mainland Library, 7921 Ron Beatty Blvd., Barefoot Bay, 772-664-4066, 2-4 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month, opens in October.

  • Suntree/Viera Library, 902 Jordan Blass Drive, Melbourne, 321-255-4404, 11 a.m.– 2 p.m. Tuesdays.

  • North Brevard Library, 2121 S Hopkins Ave., Titusville, 321-264-5026, 10 a.m.-noon the first Wednesday of each month, open all year.

  • Melbourne Library, 540 E. Fee Ave., Melbourne, 321-674-5700, 2-4 p.m. Thursdays, opening soon.

  • Brevard Farmers Market, Wickham Park Pavilion, Melbourne, 321-255-4307, 3-6 p.m. Thursdays, open all year.

  • Patrick Space Force Base, BX Garden Center, 321-799-1300, 9 a.m.-noon Fridays, no clinics in August and December.

  • Franklin DeGroodt Library, 6475 Minton Road SW, Palm Bay, 321-952-6317, 9-11 a.m. Fridays, open September through June.

  • Cocoa Beach Library, 550 N. Brevard Ave., Cocoa Beach, 321-868-1104, 10 a.m.-noon Fridays.

  • Eau Gallie Library, 152 Pineapple Ave., Melbourne, 321-255-4304, 2-4 p.m. Fridays, open all year.

Bring your gardening questions, plant samples, bugs, etc., and get the answers you are searching for.

Don't fertilize. The fertilizer ban is still in effect throughout the county, including all municipalities, so do not apply any fertilizer that contains nitrogen or phosphorus this month. If you are irrigating with reclaimed water, do not apply any nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizer, because all reclaimed water in Brevard County contains enough nitrogen and phosphorus for the lawn. On Oct. 1, the fertilizer ban will end. To take care of both your soil and the Indian River Lagoon, consider using only organic fertilizers.

Reuse your coffee grounds. Stop throwing your coffee grounds, filters and tea bags in the garbage. Instead, scatter them around your vegetables, turf and landscape plants. You can broadcast compost or biochar to enrich the soil also.

Prune your poinsettias. Give your poinsettia bushes their final pruning for this year during the first week of September.

Herbs to plant. Some of the herbs that can be planted in September include chives, garlic chives, sage, sweet marjoram, thyme, mint, oregano and rosemary.

September is the perfect time to plant rosemary in your herb garden.
September is the perfect time to plant rosemary in your herb garden.

Vegetables to plant. Vegetables that can be planted this month include arugula, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, endive/escarole, kale, lettuce, mustard, bunching onions bunching (green and shallots), peppers, radish, spinach, squash, strawberries (Sept. 25-Oct. 25), Swiss chard, tomatoes and turnips.

When planting the vegetables, inoculate the hole with earthworm castings and a granular mycorrhizal mixture. For bean and pea plants, inoculate them with the correct nitrogen-fixing bacteria. For more information on this topic, email the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Master Gardeners at brevard-mg1@ufl.edu.

Vegetables to sow. Vegetable seeds that can be sown in September, grown as transplants, and then planted in the garden in October include arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, endive/escarole, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.

Farmers Market. Visit the Brevard County Farmers Market from 3-6 p.m. Thursdays at the Wickham Park Pavilion in Melbourne and check out the fresh produce and delicious edibles that will be available through September, including fresh herbs and microgreens, shoots, wheatgrass and microgreen growing kits.

Vegetables that will be available are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and potatoes. In addition, there will be honey, mushrooms, seasoning blends, beef jerky, fresh salsas, candied jalapenos, sweet relish, cupcakes and other sweets, homemade jams, apple butter and jellies, and a variety of homemade nut butter. For pasta lovers, there will be freshly made pasta, sauces, cheese and other delicious Italian items.

On the second Thursday of every month, Deep Roots Meat comes with their Florida-grown, grass-fed Angus beef straight from their farm. To stay current with the most current information, follow the Brevard County Farmers Market Facebook page at facebook.com/brevardcountyfarmersmarket.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email her at sasc@ufl.edu.

More by Sally

These sweet flowers will fill your yard with fragrance | Sally Scalera

Rain barrels conserve water and protect your property | Sally Scalera

Bring summer color inside by growing cut flowers in your garden | Sally Scalera

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Here's what to do in your Brevard yard in September