Things to do in the Fall Garden
Meridian Garden Club
Presented October 17, 2016
by Cindy Chalou
1. Lawn Maintenance
Fall is the best time to plant cool-season grasses. Varieties such as perennial rye, bluegrass and fescue do well this time of year for filling bare spots. Overseed bare areas to allow seeds to germinate. Keep new grass seed moist. You may have to water briefly several times each day until germination.
Lawn aeration in the fall will give you healthy grass in the spring. Aerating allows for greater movement of water, fertilizer and air. It also increases the speed of mulch decomposition and encourages deep root growth, so be sure to aerate before applying fertilizer. You can aerate your lawn with a hand cultivator or a mechanical aerator.
Fertilize before the first frost. Use a fertilizer designed for fall use. These fertilizers have high potassium content, which better equips the lawn for winter months, and helps the lawn resist disease and drought. Take care not to fertilize roses because this discourages winter growth and makes them more vulnerable to extreme temperatures and conditions.
Keep mowing your lawn right up until the first frost, but keep the grass length longer than 2½" throughout the fall season. When you mow for the last time, use a mulching mower. The mulch will keep as much nitrogen as possible in the soil over the winter and into the spring.
Start mowing rather than raking your leaves. As leaves collect on your lawn, rake them regularly or shred the leaves and spread them on the lawn as compost. This shreds them into small pieces, which can also be spread into your beds. They break down rather quickly and are a very good way to add organic amendments to beds. They also pull double-duty, serving as that important layer of mulch over the winter. When leaves get too thick to mow into oblivion, rake, blow or bag them for the compost or leaf pile later.
2. Pruning
Prune any dead, diseased or out-of-control branches from trees and shrubs. Pruning deciduous trees is also a great fall garden task because with leaves gone you can easily see the shape of the tree and know best how to prune. Just don’t prune flowering trees like peach, cherry or plums, which should be pruned near their bloom time. Patty Cotter provided a pruning schedule last month.
After the first frost, cut back perennial growth to just a few inches above the ground. Throughout the winter, leave the stems above ground to protect the crown. Pick up any plant parts you cut back and any other plant debris that has died and fallen off. Remove any weeds and other garden debris since leaving this organic matter in your garden could bring disease, insects and rodent infestation.
3. Planting
Start planting bulbs now for the best spring bloom, including tulips, daffodils, daylilies, dahlias and hyacinths. Use a blanket of compost or mulch several inches thick to cover newly planted bulbs during the winter months.
Fall is absolutely the best time of year to plant any tree and /or shrub. Be sure to keep your new plants watered. The drying winds of the cooler weather can quickly dehydrate plants. Now is also a good time to relocate existing shrubs if they aren't working for you in their present digs.
Water your trees and shrubs deeply one last time before winter, paying special attention to any newly planted foliage.
4. Vegetables
Don't stop vegetable gardening just because it's cold out. There are plenty of lettuces and greens that will mature quickly, before intense winter cold sets in (and some even taste better with a touch of frost, like kale). Try planting lettuces, turnips, mustard greens, collards, and kale and be sure to mix a rich compost into your vegetable garden to give those edibles a good head start. It’s also time to push garlic clovers a couple of inches into the soil in double rows (and add a handful of daffodil bulbs just for the
fun of it).
Alternatively, if you don't want to plant edibles, consider planting a cover crop (winter rye, field peas, clover) in your vegetable beds to enrich the soil over the winter.
It's time to clean up the vegetable garden. Many pests and diseases over-winter in old plant debris. Get it out of your garden and into the compost pile, as long as it is not diseased. Otherwise, have it removed from your property.
Fall and Winter Veggies and Herbs
• The “regular” garden, (vegetables, herbs and cut flowers), should be cleaned up by now, with leftover plants pulled and composted, and weeds pulled, hoed or simply over and dug into the soil.
• Rhubarb can be cut down now, and asparagus ferns can be cut, composted and a fresh layer of natural tree leaf mulch added to keep the area neat and weed free over the winter. Add a handful of daffodils and other spring bulbs in the asparagus bed for a little spring color.
• Soil can be worked up this fall with compost or chopped tree leaves to it, rowed up, and covered with mulch, so it will be ready to plant as early as possible in the late winter and spring. One of the easiest fall opportunities is through sowing seeds of ryegrass, vetch or clover over freshly dug soil, which will grow all winter, absorbing nutrients from the ground and growing a nice crop of both
leaves and roots. When turned under in the spring, this “green manure” will give your summer garden a really nice boost in organic matter.
• Collect a few seeds of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans and other valuable “open pollinated” plants, to plant next year or to share with neighbors. This is a great time to check out online seed company sites to get in your orders early before favorite plants are sold out. Share favorite web sites with friends.
5. Prepare Your Deck or Patio
Use a broom to sweep away leaves, needles and other debris from your deck and between the boards. Remove mildew with a solution of 3-quarts water, 1-quart oxygen bleach and ¼-cup ammonia-free liquid dishwasher detergent. Add this solution to a garden sprayer and apply liberally to the deck’s surface. Let the mixture set for about 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Clean and Repair Gutters
Check your gutters after the bulk of leaves have fallen for the season. Use a hose to flush out the gutters after you’re done cleaning. With the hose running, you’ll also find any leaks that need to be repaired.
7. Clean Your Tools
Treat your tools well and they will last far longer. Before you tuck them away for the winter, wash off crusted dirt and chemicals, to prevent rusting. Sharpen and oil your tools, adding linseed oil to wooden handles to prevent cracking. Other tool maintenance ideas:
• Drain gasoline from power tools and make sure air filters are clean before storing.
• Drain gasoline from your mower, change the oil, grease the engine and change the spark plug if it needs it.
• Drain your rain barrel.
• Change the oil in your rototiller and sharpen the tines.
• Clean and degrease your grill.
• Disconnect and drain garden hoses.
Fall is the best time to plant cool-season grasses. Varieties such as perennial rye, bluegrass and fescue do well this time of year for filling bare spots. Overseed bare areas to allow seeds to germinate. Keep new grass seed moist. You may have to water briefly several times each day until germination.
Lawn aeration in the fall will give you healthy grass in the spring. Aerating allows for greater movement of water, fertilizer and air. It also increases the speed of mulch decomposition and encourages deep root growth, so be sure to aerate before applying fertilizer. You can aerate your lawn with a hand cultivator or a mechanical aerator.
Fertilize before the first frost. Use a fertilizer designed for fall use. These fertilizers have high potassium content, which better equips the lawn for winter months, and helps the lawn resist disease and drought. Take care not to fertilize roses because this discourages winter growth and makes them more vulnerable to extreme temperatures and conditions.
Keep mowing your lawn right up until the first frost, but keep the grass length longer than 2½" throughout the fall season. When you mow for the last time, use a mulching mower. The mulch will keep as much nitrogen as possible in the soil over the winter and into the spring.
Start mowing rather than raking your leaves. As leaves collect on your lawn, rake them regularly or shred the leaves and spread them on the lawn as compost. This shreds them into small pieces, which can also be spread into your beds. They break down rather quickly and are a very good way to add organic amendments to beds. They also pull double-duty, serving as that important layer of mulch over the winter. When leaves get too thick to mow into oblivion, rake, blow or bag them for the compost or leaf pile later.
2. Pruning
Prune any dead, diseased or out-of-control branches from trees and shrubs. Pruning deciduous trees is also a great fall garden task because with leaves gone you can easily see the shape of the tree and know best how to prune. Just don’t prune flowering trees like peach, cherry or plums, which should be pruned near their bloom time. Patty Cotter provided a pruning schedule last month.
After the first frost, cut back perennial growth to just a few inches above the ground. Throughout the winter, leave the stems above ground to protect the crown. Pick up any plant parts you cut back and any other plant debris that has died and fallen off. Remove any weeds and other garden debris since leaving this organic matter in your garden could bring disease, insects and rodent infestation.
3. Planting
Start planting bulbs now for the best spring bloom, including tulips, daffodils, daylilies, dahlias and hyacinths. Use a blanket of compost or mulch several inches thick to cover newly planted bulbs during the winter months.
Fall is absolutely the best time of year to plant any tree and /or shrub. Be sure to keep your new plants watered. The drying winds of the cooler weather can quickly dehydrate plants. Now is also a good time to relocate existing shrubs if they aren't working for you in their present digs.
Water your trees and shrubs deeply one last time before winter, paying special attention to any newly planted foliage.
4. Vegetables
Don't stop vegetable gardening just because it's cold out. There are plenty of lettuces and greens that will mature quickly, before intense winter cold sets in (and some even taste better with a touch of frost, like kale). Try planting lettuces, turnips, mustard greens, collards, and kale and be sure to mix a rich compost into your vegetable garden to give those edibles a good head start. It’s also time to push garlic clovers a couple of inches into the soil in double rows (and add a handful of daffodil bulbs just for the
fun of it).
Alternatively, if you don't want to plant edibles, consider planting a cover crop (winter rye, field peas, clover) in your vegetable beds to enrich the soil over the winter.
It's time to clean up the vegetable garden. Many pests and diseases over-winter in old plant debris. Get it out of your garden and into the compost pile, as long as it is not diseased. Otherwise, have it removed from your property.
Fall and Winter Veggies and Herbs
• The “regular” garden, (vegetables, herbs and cut flowers), should be cleaned up by now, with leftover plants pulled and composted, and weeds pulled, hoed or simply over and dug into the soil.
• Rhubarb can be cut down now, and asparagus ferns can be cut, composted and a fresh layer of natural tree leaf mulch added to keep the area neat and weed free over the winter. Add a handful of daffodils and other spring bulbs in the asparagus bed for a little spring color.
• Soil can be worked up this fall with compost or chopped tree leaves to it, rowed up, and covered with mulch, so it will be ready to plant as early as possible in the late winter and spring. One of the easiest fall opportunities is through sowing seeds of ryegrass, vetch or clover over freshly dug soil, which will grow all winter, absorbing nutrients from the ground and growing a nice crop of both
leaves and roots. When turned under in the spring, this “green manure” will give your summer garden a really nice boost in organic matter.
• Collect a few seeds of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans and other valuable “open pollinated” plants, to plant next year or to share with neighbors. This is a great time to check out online seed company sites to get in your orders early before favorite plants are sold out. Share favorite web sites with friends.
5. Prepare Your Deck or Patio
Use a broom to sweep away leaves, needles and other debris from your deck and between the boards. Remove mildew with a solution of 3-quarts water, 1-quart oxygen bleach and ¼-cup ammonia-free liquid dishwasher detergent. Add this solution to a garden sprayer and apply liberally to the deck’s surface. Let the mixture set for about 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Clean and Repair Gutters
Check your gutters after the bulk of leaves have fallen for the season. Use a hose to flush out the gutters after you’re done cleaning. With the hose running, you’ll also find any leaks that need to be repaired.
7. Clean Your Tools
Treat your tools well and they will last far longer. Before you tuck them away for the winter, wash off crusted dirt and chemicals, to prevent rusting. Sharpen and oil your tools, adding linseed oil to wooden handles to prevent cracking. Other tool maintenance ideas:
• Drain gasoline from power tools and make sure air filters are clean before storing.
• Drain gasoline from your mower, change the oil, grease the engine and change the spark plug if it needs it.
• Drain your rain barrel.
• Change the oil in your rototiller and sharpen the tines.
• Clean and degrease your grill.
• Disconnect and drain garden hoses.