10 Things Smart Gardeners Do in September 

Start final rounds of fall greens

Spinach and greens do quite well in the cooler late summer and early fall days.

Bring in and preserve the harvest.

September can be a busy month for preserving the harvest, but at least the temperatures are cooling!

Keep on keeping on the weeds.

Even if you don't get all the weeds out of the ground, at least keep them mowed or trimmed to prevent seed heads and the production of new seeds (and weeds!).

Collect covers for frosty nights

Old linens like sheets, towels, comforters, and pillowcases make the best frost covers.

Utilize season extenders.

Season extenders mean weeks and months more gardening time--and more fresh garden produce!

Save seeds.

Saving seeds can help you build strong, well-acclimated plants, and help you become more self-sufficient, too!

Start fall garden cleanup.

If you clean as you go and as crops finish, you'll have much less work ahead of you next month.

Divide perennial fruit, vegetables, flowers, and plants.

Dividing older perennial vegetables and ornamentals will reinvigorate your plants--and give you more to grow or share

Plant fall trees and shrubs

Fall-planted trees, orchards, berry bushes, and shrubs get a head start in the spring.