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September in West Virginia

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September in West Virginia

layout: base.njk title: "September - WV Homesteading Calendar" description: "Homesteading tasks for September in West Virginia" category: seasonal-calendar month: 9

Theme: Transition
Weather: Warm days, cool nights, avg highs 78-80°F, lows 56-60°F
Daylight: 13h 25m → 12h 10m (shortening by 75 minutes!)
Frost Risk: Low risk, 1-3 frosts possible in late September (elevated areas)

🌿 Phenology Signs

  • Early September: Goldenrod (still blooming), asters (New England, purple dome)
  • Mid-September: Asters peak, Joe Pye weed, ironweed, gentian
  • Late September: Witch hazel begins, fall-blooming crocus
  • Vegetables: Tomato, pepper plants still flowering (but fruit won't mature)
  • Wildflowers: Goldenrod, asters, boneset, turtlehead, sneezeweed
  • Peak fall migration (warblers, thrushes, sparrows)
  • Hawks migrating (late September)
  • Hummingbirds mostly gone
  • Bears in hyperphagia (eating 20,000+ calories/day)
  • Deer breeding season approaching (bucks sparring)
  • Squirrels caching nuts
  • Native bees still active on asters and goldenrod
  • Honeybees preparing for winter
  • Monarch migration peak (mid-September)
  • Crickets slow down, frogs seek hibernation sites
  • Snakes basking before brumation

✅ Task Checklist

Garden

  • [ ] Harvest all tomatoes (including green) before first frost
  • [ ] Pick all peppers and eggplant before frost damage
  • [ ] Harvest winter squash and pumpkins, cure 10-14 days
  • [ ] Harvest sweet potatoes before frost, cure 10-14 days
  • [ ] Final corn harvest
  • [ ] Plant garlic cloves (6-8 weeks before ground freeze, late September)
  • [ ] Plant onion sets (for early spring green onions)
  • [ ] Sow cover crops: Winter rye, hairy vetch, crimson clover (in empty beds)
  • [ ] Transplant fall brassicas should be maturing (broccoli, cabbage, kale)
  • [ ] Lettuce and Asian greens (under row cover)
  • [ ] Plant strawberries for next year's crop
  • [ ] Clear summer-annual beds, compost healthy material
  • [ ] Mulch perennial beds after ground freezes slightly
  • [ ] Begin putting garden to bed (remove diseased plants, tool maintenance)
  • [ ] Save seeds from open-pollinated crops

Orchard

  • [ ] Harvest grapes and make wine/jelly
  • [ ] Pick apples (early and mid-season varieties)
  • [ ] Harvest pears
  • [ ] Pick plums
  • [ ] Prune damaged branches
  • [ ] Water deeply before winter

Animals

  • [ ] Prepare for breeding season
  • [ ] Check fencing for rut season
  • [ ] Stock up on winter feed
  • [ ] Service water systems before freeze

Preservation

  • [ ] Can and preserve final summer harvests
  • [ ] Cure winter squash and pumpkins
  • [ ] Make grape wine, juice, jelly
  • [ ] Apple cider, apple butter, applesauce
  • [ ] Freeze or can tomatoes (final big batch)
  • [ ] Dry peppers, make flakes or powder
  • [ ] Root cellaring: Store winter squash, apples, pears

🌱 What to Plant

Direct Seed: - Early September: Spinach (for fall and spring harvest), lettuce - Cover crops: Winter rye, hairy vetch, crimson clover (in empty beds) - Garlic cloves (late September, for next year's harvest) - Onion sets (for early spring green onions)

Transplant: - Fall brassicas should be maturing (broccoli, cabbage, kale) - Lettuce and Asian greens (under row cover) - Strawberries (plant new bed for next year)

Start Indoors: - None needed

🐛 Watch For

  • Frost forecasts - monitor closely, harvest all tomatoes before first frost
  • Monarch migration peak - mid-September, seasonal transition
  • Fruit ripening - harvest before frost damages
  • Squirrels caching nuts - preparing for winter
  • Bear hyperphagia - heavy foraging, be aware in woods
  • Deer activity - rut approaching, increased browsing
  • Milkweed seed dispersing - monarch migration underway
  • Fall equinox - September 22, day/night equal, rapid day shortening

📅 Key Timing

  • Fall Equinox (September 22): Day/night equal, rapid day shortening begins
  • Asters and goldenrod at peak: Pollinator bonanza before winter
  • Green tomatoes on vine: First frost warning, harvest all
  • Monarch migration peak: Mid-September, ~30 days to first frost
  • Broad-winged hawk migration: Mid-September (Sept 10-20), fall half-gone
  • First frost typical: October 15-25 (elevated areas may see late September)
  • Hen of the woods peak: Prime fall foraging (September-October)
  • Days shortening rapidly: 75 minutes of daylight lost this month

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