• Harvest most fruits before frost.
• Continue removing diseased leaves.  Put diseased leaves, pesticide-laden grass clippings and weed seeds out for recycling rather than the compost pile.  For Montgomery County guidelines on recycling yard trimmings visit:  http://m.montgomerycountymd.gov/SWS/how/yard-trim.html
• Mulch or compost healthy leaves.
•  You can have vegetable garden and landscape soils tested (see https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/soils/soil-testing for more information on soil test labs and how to take a soil sample)
•  From mid-October through November, plant hardy bulbs for spring flowering – this can include onion and garlic bulbs!

Source: University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center
http://extension.umd.edu/hgic

English ivy is a major threat to the health of the trees around Rock Creek in Montgomery County and the District.

Ivy can kill trees and other plants by stealing sunlight and nutrients, attracting fungus, and weighing down branches causing them to break. The roots of English ivy penetrate cracks in mortar, stucco, and concrete and grow under siding and shingles. Ivy provides an excellent habitat for rats and mosquitoes, but few other animals make use of the plant.

Removal: At the base of trees, use garden clippers and a hand saw to cut all ivy vines in a ring around the tree trunk. Remove the cut section ensuring that you can see the bark of the tree. Do not pull the vines off the tree because this can damage the bark of the tree. The vines will die back and fall off the tree. Along the ground, English ivy has a shallow root system and can be pulled up. On buildings and other structures, cut a gap in the ivy vines and pull all vines from the ground around the building. Do not pull vines off of the structure as you can cause damage to the exterior of the building. The vines will die back and fall off over time.

See more and a pledge to remove English ivy at http://www.rockcreekconservancy.org