LAWN MAINTENANCE: Feed with "fall" or "winterizing" formula. Last chance to tackle weeds like bermuda and nutsedge, which go dormant in winter. Not sure how much to water this month? Download the free UC publication "Lawn Watering Guide for California". This excellent guide solves the mystery of when to water and how much to apply. Fall is also a great time to aerate. According to Sunset.com (web access for AOL users and Sunset subscribers only), if you can't easily push a screwdriver into your turf up to its handle, it's time to aerate. If overseeding is necessary, be sure to use grass seed that matches your lawn.

LAWN CARE INFO: Want to know what type of lawn you have and how to maintain it? Want to put in a new lawn or renovate an old one? Need lawn pest info? The new UC Guide to Healthy Lawns is an excellent resource.

SHADE TREES: Lightly trim trees where necessary. Avoid heavy pruning of deciduous trees until winter dormancy.

BACKYARD ORCHARD TREES, SHRUBS & VINES: The following links to the University of California Backyard Orchard care sheets will keep you on track and on your way to a tasty harvest: Almond, Apple , Apricot, Avocado, Berries (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry) , Cherry, Chestnut, Citrus (grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, and orange) , Fig, Filbert (Hazelnut), Grape (table), Kiwifruit, Loquat, Nectarine, Olive, Peach, Pear, Pecan, Persimmon, Pistachio, Plum & Prune, Pomegranate, Quince, Walnut.

Many nurseries are taking bare-root orders now.

IRRIGATION: Continue watering until rains begin. You may notice the need for watering isn't quite as dire as it was in previous months.

ANNUALS: Have you replaced your summer color with cool-season annuals? Do it now and you'll beat the rain, establish some healthy root systems and have color that lasts through spring.

PERENNIALS: Cut back late-summer bloomers lightly after blooms fade. If the following spring- and summer-flowering perennials have become crowded, dig and divide them, using a knife or pruning saw to cut the clump into halves or quarters: agapanthus, clivia, gazania, fortnight lily, Aster x frikartii, astilbe, Bergenia cordifolia, columbine, coreopsis, crocosmia, daylily, delphinium, Gaillardia x grandiflora, Geranium 'Johnson's Blue', Geum chiloense, heuchera, hosta, Lobelia cardinalis, Lychnis coronaria, Monarda didyma, peony, Scabiosa columbaria, Shasta daisy, Siberian iris, snow-in-summer, summer phlox, and yarrow (wait until summer to divide bearded iris and oriental poppy). Avoid heavy pruning until late winter or early spring, when new growth is just beginning to emerge.

WEEDS: Last chance to attack winter-dormant weeds like bermuda grass and nutsedge. See the IPM website for more info. UC Weed Gallery for proper identification and the UC IPM Pest Notes for how to manage them.

PESTS: Ants are heading back indoors and snails are becoming more active. Visit the IPM website for control measures. While you're on the site, check out the photos of beneficial insects as well.

Ants in your pant...ries?

GENERAL FEEDING: Only with "fall fertilizer", which is usually lower in nitrogen (the N in N-P-K) and higher in phosphorus (the P in N-P-K), or use organic fertilizers, which tend to have lower percentages of N-P-K, won't "burn" plants and promote long-term soil health. The results of using a fall fertilizer? Increased root growth, avoidance of frost-tender top growth, and better winter preparedness.

FEED YOUR SOIL: Fall is a great time to add a couple inches of compost and a few inches of mulch. If you can only do this once a year, now's the time!