Add retaining walls and plants to control erosion.
Aerate your lawn.
Bring in plants that have summered outdoors.
Check all outdoor lighting.
Check all window & door locks for proper operation.
Check ceilings and walls for cracks, loose or failing plaster, signs of leaks or stains, dirt, finish damage.
Check outdoor paint for peeling, cracking and coverage.
Check perimeter and fill low spots to make sure water drains away from your home’s foundation.
Check stairs for loose treads, handrails, or carpeting, and repair as needed.
Check that windows and doors close properly. Also check weather-stripping on windows and doors for damage and tightness.
Check the condition of caulking where two different materials meet, such as where wood siding joins window or door.
Check windows and doors for cracks, gaps and chips.
Check your home for water leaks and disconnect the garden hose from the "hose bibb.”
Chemically treat grass for pest control.
Clean bird bath and feeders plus the ground beneath.
Clean septic tank periodically to keep it working properly and have it pumped every five years.
Clean the clothes dryer exhaust duct, damper and space under the dryer
Clean up leaves, sticks, rocks and other debris.
Clear gutters and downspouts of leaves and debris to make sure they are clean and working.
Close foundation vents (if you opened them in the Spring).
Consider adding solar outdoor lighting.
Consider overseeding your lawn with ryegrass.
Consider planting a green manure crop.
Cover outside air conditioning units.
Dig up tender bulbs before the first frost.
Do a soil test and add amendments as needed.
Ensure caulking around bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water leakage.
Examine all exterior trim for tightness of fit, damage, or decay.
Have a certified chimney sweep check and clean your flues and fireplace dampers.
Have a heating professional check your heating system (you should do this once a year).
Identify and repair erosion areas.
Inspect the insulation in attics and crawl spaces.
Insulate any exposed plumbing pipes to prevent broken water pipes.
Look for icicles, frost accumulation and ice dams.
Make sure you have working nightlights at the top and bottom of stairways (indoor & out).
Mow the lawn a little shorter without scalping.
Plant your fall garden with annuals and late vegetable.
Prepare and label dry seeds for next year.
Prepare garden soil for next year.
Rake or blow dead leaves.
Remove any bird's nests from chimney flues or outdoor electrical fixtures
Re-paint and seal open masonry cracks, expansion joints, and missing mortar on stoops, sidewalks, driveways, and foundation before the first freeze.
Replace any loose deck nails or screws with new deck screws.
Replace caulking around sinks, bathtubs, and showers as necessary to maintain a water seal.
Replace or recharge fire extinguishers.
Replace your furnace filter every three months.
Review your fire escape plan with your family.
Run all your gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel is gone.
Selectively divide and plant perennials, as appropriate.
Selectively fertilize, as appropriate.
Selectively prune and trim shrubs and trees, as appropriate.
Start planning your spring bulb garden and prepare the soil.
Sweep debris from the decking, paths and porches.
Test your emergency generator, if appropriate.
Test, clean, and replace smoke detectors & carbon monoxide, as recommended alarms.
Trim back tree branches that scrape against or overhang the roof.
Use a pair of binoculars to visually inspect hard to reach shingles, vents, trim, siding, paint, caulk and sills.
Verify the proper operation of CO2 monitors near any gas fired appliances.
Water trees at least one time before the onset of winter.
Weed overgrown gardens and beds.
Farm Maintenance Tips
Address heat issues for livestock, as necessary.
Carry a small notebook and make note of needed repairs.
Check and repair buildings and animal quarters.
Check and replace worn, broken or missing insulators.
Check fluids, anti-freeze and batteries in all machines.
Continue mowing for weed control.
Disconnect batteries in equipment and machinery.
Drain fuel tanks or winterize your gasoline.
Have hay tested for nutritional value.
Immediately address safety or predator issues.
Make sure gates are latching properly.
Order and begin plant setting process.
Plant a winter annual cover crop in unused pastures or gardens.
Prepare schedule “F” if you submit farm taxes.
Prepare watering systems for wintertime operations.
Prepare your plans for stockpiling winter feed.
Replace or recharge fire extinguishers.
Replace rotten posts and reset loose ones.
Rotate grass eating animals to fresh pastures.
Soil test pastures for spring fertilization.
Test electric fence with voltmeter.
Test fire alarms for proper operation.
Walk your fence line, checking for damaged areas.
Weed overgrown pasture.
Lawn/Garden Maintenance Tips - September
Lawns
Although weeds have been plentiful this year, remember that you can not use pre-emergent herbicides (weed preventers) in the same season you are planting seeds.
Fertilize fescue and bluegrass lawn. Use slow-release fertilizer to reduce risk of nutrient run-off.
This is the time to reseed bare spots in the fescue and bluegrass lawns.
Ornamentals
Butterfly bush will produce flowers until frost if you keep the dead flowers removed.
Do NOT fertilize shrubs. Late season nitrogen can reduce cold hardiness of woody plants.
If you are planning some re-landscaping, fall is a good time to plant shrubs and perennials. Shop now while some garden centers have plants on sale.
Move house plants indoors before temperatures drop below 50° F. Start checking house plants for signs of insects so they can be treated a few times before moving back indoors. While you are at it, go ahead and give the plants a good bath with the garden hose, remove dead leaves and cut back long stems.
This is a good time to cut flowers for drying. Good candidates for air drying include celosia, yarrow, statice, globe amaranth, strawflowers, goldenrod and grasses.
Fruits
Prune blackberries and raspberries if not already done. Remove the canes that bore fruit this year.
Spray the trunks of peach, cherry and plum trees with permethrin to prevent peach tree borers. The new borer sprays do not have much residual, so it is best to spray the lower part of the trunk, to ground level, a couple of times in late August and early September.
Strawberries are forming next spring’s flower buds now. Fertilize, weed and water as needed.
Vegetables
Insects can be a problem with all of the cabbage family crops. A weekly application of B.t. bacteria spray will prevent cabbageworms. Use insecticidal soap for aphids if needed.
Plant the fall vegetables by mid-month. This includes broccoli, collards, and other leafy greens. Plant lettuce seeds every couple of weeks for a continual harvest.
If there have been a lot of diseases in the vegetable garden this year remove spent vegetable plants right away to reduce carry-over of insect and disease problems. Consider keeping a separate compost pile for diseased plants and do not use that compost in the vegetable garden.
Also, don't forget to ripen those healthy, late green tomatoes indoors.
Other
Keep after those weeds to prevent them from spreading seeds.
Lawn/Garden Maintenance Tips - October
Lawn
If you did not fertilize the lawn in September, you can still apply 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, preferably using slow release fertilizer.
Overseed Bermuda lawns with ryegrass.
Scattered leaves don’t hurt, but do not let a layer of leaves accumulate on the lawn. Rake or pick them up with the mower, and add them to the compost pile.
This is an excellent time to core aerate compacted soils.
Ornamentals
Bring tender container plants inside.
Control tea scale on shrubbery with a systematic insecticide.
Dig caladium tubers before frost and store them during the winter.
Divide day lilies, liriope and hostas.
Do NOT fertilize ornamental plants.
If you have identified hemlock woolly adelgids in your hemlock trees, this is a good time of year to treat. Soap or oil should be applied between August and December. Fall is also a good time to apply systemic soil drench treatments.
Inspect house plants before moving back indoors for insect infestations, particularly spider mites, whiteflies or mealybugs. While you are at it, clean up the plants by removing dead leaves and flowers, snip back over-long stems and give the plant a thorough bath with the garden hose.
Most perennials can be divided now. Divide spring blooming plants, peonies and sedum.
Plant pansies. Don’t be skimpy – they are small plants.
Plant trees and shrubs. Loosen roots of container grown plants that may have become root-bound. Do not plant too deep.
Fruit
Finish removing old canes from blackberry and raspberry plantings.
Good sanitation in the orchard is important for reducing pest problems next year. As you rake leaves, also remove any fruit left in the trees and pick up all fruit from the ground.
Tend the strawberry bed. Weed, fertilizer and water if needed. Next spring’s flower buds are forming now.
Vegetables
Good sanitation is important here as well. Remove spent plants to the compost pile or turn them into the soil to rot.
Greens planted last month could use a little fertilizer now.
Harvest pumpkins and winter squash before frost.
Plant garlic and onions.
Remove asparagus spears as soon as they are killed by frost.
Spray cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and collards with thuricide to control cabbage worms.
Apply dolomitic lime to vegetable gardens for 2010 springer crops.
Other
Clean out the storage shed. Discard or repair damaged tools.
Leave hummingbird feeders out for late migrating birds.