Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer for many, but for gardeners, it means it's time for fall plantings.

Garden Journal columnist Ron Kujawski began gardening at an early age on his family's onion farm in upstate New York. Although now retired, he spent most of his career teaching at the UMass Extension Service.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer for many, but for gardeners, it means it's time for fall plantings.

Just as Memorial Day is viewed as the unofficial beginning of summer in the minds of many folks, including gardeners, Labor Day is typically regarded as the onset of autumn. Why not?

Autumn is when the harvest of many fruits and vegetables is at its peak, and right now I am harvesting daily. That’s why passersby may hear groans coming from our kitchen as my wife, CEO of food preservation in this household, just witnessed me hauling in another bushel or two of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, bush beans, sweet corn, blueberries, etc. On the other hand, she does embrace the thought that so much of our meals this winter will consist of food that came from the garden and not the grocery store.

Yet, while many of my efforts now are focused on harvesting, I realize that this is a good time to plant. No, I have not lost my mind. Well, maybe I have but, still, conditions are ideal for planting. This includes some vegetables with a short growing season and/or tolerance for exposure to frost. Among these are radishes, turnips, carrots, and many salad greens.

Labor Day also triggers in my mind that this is an ideal time to be planting or digging and transplanting herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees. Why so, if we are, or soon will be, heading toward cooler temperatures? For one, plants have been building up their reserve of carbohydrates through this growing season. Plants at this time of year are directing the energy in those reserves to root growth rather than stem growth. With soil temperatures still quite warm, roots will continue to grow, thus ensuring that the newly planted specimens will become well established before the soil freezes. In addition, as air temperatures cool down this month, plants lose less water through their leaves via transpiration than they do in hot weather. As such, there is less stress on these plants.

Before planting, amend the soil, if necessary, with compost or peat moss. As for fertilizer, apply an organic or slow-release fertilizer as recommended on the product label. However, if the soil is amended with compost prior to planting, fertilizer application may be delayed until next spring.

When planting be sure to set the plant at the same depth as it previously grew. Add water to the planting hole just before setting in the plant and then again just after planting. Depending upon rainfall, water the plants every few days if needed. Finally, apply a mulch of some sort, e.g. aged wood chips, shredded leaves, buckwheat hulls, or cedar bark, to the area around the plant but not against the stem of the plant.

Here are some other Labor Day weekend tasks:

Enjoy these labors this Labor Day weekend!

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.