Some reflections as the outdoor gardening season comes to an end

Sometimes it pays to look around and take note of things so that you can better appreciate what you have. For an immediate example, take a look at your birch tree leaves. Notice that this year they are not dripping with aphids or displaying many leaf miner tracks. This year they have not turned prematurely yellow. And, since we didn't have very many aphids, we didn't have the usual explosion of yellow jackets and wasps that would be plaguing us this time of year. This in turn has made it easier to wash cars and pick raspberries.

Next, take notice of the excessive numbers of slugs on your property right now. Go outside and look at your garden and I am pretty sure you will find plenty of them there as well as on your porch, walk or driveway. This has been one of those years where slugs, unlike the aphids, have proliferated. I recently watched a flock of magpies go through our backyard devouring them — and hoped the slugs aren't increasing the magpie populations!

Each slug is capable of laying 500 or so eggs in a season, usually 30 to 50 at a time. Many folks give up trapping them this time of year, figuring the season is over and the slugs are just as worthy as are the moose when it comes to getting the cole crops. However, it makes sense to prevent those slugs you have now from laying any more eggs. Each time you take one out, you prevent 500 more from being born. Do the math. It is staggering.

And when it comes to noticing things, now is when you should be noticing some of your heirloom veggies and flowers may be better than others — bigger, smellier, more colorful or whatever trait it is. These are the fruits and flowers you want to let go to seed so you can collect those seeds for next year, and now is the time to do that. Use these seeds next year, then choose plants with the best traits from among that crop to harvest seeds for the following years and so on.

I know from the questions I've been getting of late that several folks have noticed the brown patches in their lawns that are definitely not caused by moose or other animal urine. It is hard to say which specific fungus may be causing any given patch, but fungi is usually their cause.

Lawns fertilized with high levels of nitrogen — and that includes organic as well as chemical fertilizers — are most susceptible. The problem generally disappears with the advent of winter and may or may not come back the following season, but not until late. These patches usually coincide with cooler nights and lots of damp grass, which is why we see them now and not so much in the spring.

And, finally, many may have noticed the Cooperative Extension (foolishly) decided to move Julie Riley (who we all know is Alaska's master gardener) to Fairbanks despite our grumbling and outright loud complaining. We lost Julie, but what about those master gardener classes? How can Southcentral Alaska gardeners become master gardeners?

Well, on Sept. 11 in Anchorage and Sept. 12 in Palmer, two master gardener training sessions will start. You can register online if you are in the Anchorage area and want to attend classes there by going to http://bit.ly/AnchMG17 or go to the Anchorage Outreach Center. Palmer registration is online at http://bit.ly/MatSuMG17. There is a $300 fee for the course, but in addition to the fantastic knowledge you will gain, you can get a rebate for doing community gardening service.

And tell them to bring back Julie.

Jeff’s Alaska garden calendar

Mushroom ID walk: Alaska Botanical Garden, Sept. 21, 6-7:30 p.m. Led by expert teacher Christin Anderson. $12 for members and $15 for nonmembers at http://bit.ly/2j9i9hO.

Fall gardening 101: Bulbs for Beginners, a three-day workshop to learn all you need to know about planting bulbs here in Alaska on Sept. 25, 27, 29 with a choice of 12-2 or 6-8 p.m. sessions. Hurry and go to http://bit.ly/2gOPfCF for more information.

Spring bulbs: Order, buy locally (best) and start planting for the next month or so. No bone meal. Mulch with grass clippings. Plant as many as possible. They are not invasive.