Friday, September 14, 2018 7 Brooklin Town Crier For more information about this feature contact the Brooklin Town Crier at 905.655.7642 Dealing with September A supposedly cooler and wetter September makes it a wonderful gardening month and the perfect time to plant grass seed. But I'm not feeling the cooler. The trellis, filled with Morning Glories, was wilting recently. They've been growing since late May and should have had enough roots to find water but the time between rains has been longer than they're prepared for. As for rain, we got it last week while I was in the garden. I decided not to stop, so the rain did even the the rain gauge didn't even record the dribble. My daughter had landscaping done and there's a large area needing grass seed. I promised to sow my few sample bags but they need to be kept moist which, until the heat relented, wasn't really possible. I kept an eye on the weather, prepared to rush to her place as soon as it looked like it might cool as it did last weekend. Besides, we had ample time to establish it before winter. Keep sod wet There's always the sod option, however its need for moisture is probably greater than for the seed. Grass seed needs to stay moist for as much of the day as possible to initiate germination. Laying in the top few cm of soil and a light watering in the morning and evening will usually do the trick. Sod, on the other hand, needs to be wet through and down to the underlying soil for several cms in order to encourage the roots to grow and find water. Such is the water regimen for new sod though not necessarily as often. The vegetable garden has had a significant planting recently. There is a wonderful array of cool season vegetables that will feed us until November. Some will take a light frost and others are happy with cold nights as long as the sun shines during the day. Brussels sprouts are the best autumn vegetable. They need a couple of frosts to turn them sweet and we often pick the last of them on Christmas day, an admittedly somewhat strange family tradition. Zucchinis climbing I'm watching a couple of fruit on the climbing zucchini vines. As of a week ago, they were about 2m long and hanging straight down on the front trellises, including hanging down on the neighbour's side. I'm not sure how big they'll get but I'll probably take them to the Brooklin Horticultural Society's meeting and show on Sept 26. I'll enter them in the "any other vegetable" category and wait to see what the judge thinks. Afterwards, I'm not really sure what I'll do with them, though I might roast them like a winter squash. The problem is, if I roast the whole squash I could probably feed a significant portion of the village. Still, they're a lot of fun to grow. Next month, I plan to delve into my favourite autumn topic: spring flowering bulbs that need to be planted in October. Visions of tulips, narcissus and crocus are dancing in my head. Dealing with September Blooming in Brooklin By Ken Brown Nominations are now being accepted for the Town of Whitby's 13th annual Celebrating Youth Awards, which recognize outstanding young leaders in Whitby who have made positive contributions to the community. The annual awards seek nominations for Whitby youth aged 12 to 18 who, through their selfless actions, volunteerism, or involvement in school or community organizations, have demonstrated a commitment to making Whitby a better place to live, work and play. Nominations are due Tuesday, October 9, 2018, at 4 p.m. and can be submitted online at whitby.ca/ youthevents. Nominees and award winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony that will take place on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. This year's awards ceremony is proudly sponsored by Fieldgate Developments. Nominations Open For Celebrating Youth Awards