Fall Gardening Checklist

How to Prepare Your Garden for the Cooler Months

Pumpkins, apples, and gourds oh my!! I don’t know about you but Fall is absolutely one of my favorite seasons. From the colors of the leaves to the smells and tastes of the season there is so much to absorb. Yet even though the weather cools and the daylight dwindles, it's way too early to forget about the garden. There's still a lot to be done. This season you’ll be busy with lawn care, leaf collection, and spring bulb planting. Following you will find a checklist of tasks to complete this fall including pre-filled calendars to assist you with scheduling your tasks. Read on and get busy! Your garden awaits

FALL

#1: Complete Fall Mulching (September)

Install mulch at a depth of 2”-3” in all flower beds and tree rings to maintain soil quality and to protect plants that are sensitive to any seasonal cold blasts. You may use traditional hard wood mulch or for a more cost effective solution try using weeds (but not those with seeds), grass clippings, leaves, and straw that has been chopped up. Mulch should be installed well before the first freeze.

#2: Protect Ornamental Plants (October)

As discussed in the last slide, plants that are sensitive to cold should be protected by a layer of mulch. However, ornamental plants such as azaleas and berry bushes will need to be protected from bud-eating deer. The easiest and safest form of protection is deer netting but sprays and other methods are also available.

#3: Begin Composting for Spring (September)

Purchase or build a simple compost bin using an old trash can or storage bin. Add a mixture of both green or “live” material and brown material. You may use soil, leaves, grass cuttings, fruit peels, vegetable waste, etc. as mixing components for your compost. And don’t forget the worms. They will help add additional nitrogen to the compost. Be sure to cover your compost and turn regularly. By Spring, you will have a fantastic nutrient rich soil enhancer to use on flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

#4: Complete fall clean up (October & November)

Rake up and dispose of leaves around the property and in flower beds and tree rings. Clean out old annuals and weeds from flower beds before seeds drop. And cut back spent perennials that create hiding places for slugs, snails, and other pests.

#5: Install Fall Bulbs (October)

Till the soil and plant bulbs for Spring. Fall is the perfect time to plant bulbs like tulips, irises and crocuses, which need a winter freeze to start their growing process. By getting them in the ground now, you will ensure a colorful garden by early spring. For best results, plant bulbs once temperatures are in forties and fifties, but several weeks before the ground completely freezes.

Fall Spring

#6: Fertilize the lawn (September)

Feed Your Lawn. Don't let your lawn go into winter without the nutrients it needs to battle the long sleep. Help it out this fall with a good mix of phosphorus-rich fertilizer, which helps strengthen roots.While it might look like your lawn has shut down for the season, a little lawn care in the fall months will guarantee a lush, green turf next spring.  

#7: Water the garden

Give all of your plants a good drink, especially your trees. Their roots need plenty of moisture to make it through the upcoming months.

* Please note garden watering is not on the calendar. Watering schedule varies regionally due to zone variations in temperature, moisture, water usage regulations, etc.

#8: Mow the lawn (April – November)

Grass grows more slowly in fall, but it still needs to be cut to prepare for winter. During peak season most lawns will need to be cut about every 7 days however in the late summer and fall this task may fall to every 10-14 days.