Wait till the weather cools before feeding cool-season grasses. Plant trees and shrubs for brilliant color this fall. Shrubs include arbutilon, cotoneaster, crape myrtle, escallon-ia, euonymous, hibiscus, holly, honeysuckle, oleander, pomegranate, and pyracantha. The berries will attract birds to your garden, as well. Cover sunflower seed heads with cheesecloth when birds start pecking, but also leave a couple heads for the birds.
Heads are ready to cure when the backside of the head is brown and dry, with no trace of green.
Cut off the seed head, leaving a foot or two of stalk attached. When the backs are entirely brown and crisp, the seeds should snap out easily. Replace the bottom of a wooden box with half-inch hardware cloth or chicken wire for use as a colander. Collect fresh-picked vegetables in the box, and rinse them off to remove excess soil. The soil will remain in the garden, and only final cleaning will be necessary indoors.