Preparing your garden for the fall is possible before the temperature becomes too low. You can do a number of things to your garden while the soil is still warm, from removing dead plants and weeds to lawn debris. You can harvest the remaining crops, till the soil and add some compost or mulch for better yield.
A little garden planning and preparation can rev up the coming spring season. During autumn, you can clean up beds, prepare sod, minimize garden problems, and manage soil for the next growing season.
Garden preparation in the fall is among the maintenance practices that will ensure a beautiful and bountiful garden in the coming season. The only challenge comes with how and when to do it. Most people are stuck when it is time to prepare their garden in the fall.
However, that should not bother you since below is a list of things you can do to prepare your garden for the fall.
Equip your garden
There are a lot of garden tools that need to be installed to wait for the next season. Ensure your garden drip system is in place for plants that need regular watering. The drip system is a smart and economical arrangement that will promote plant growth while saving on the water bill. Thanks to the drip system, your plants will not suffer from common diseases and fungi.
You can cover the compost with a layer of straws or plastic before the snow falls. This way, you will protect your compost from cold and ensure its nutrient level remains intact. Stack a pile of rocks on the edge of the compost and on top of the plastic tarp to secure it throughout the season. Transplant fragile plants indoors at least 1 month before the frost. Plants like dahlias and begonias need to be transplanted indoors to stay healthy during the winter.
Cleaning up your garden
There are many proven ways you can tidy up your garden. Start by creating a new compost bucket or bin for the next season. Use a garden tool or shovel to scoop up compost and collect it in a bin or bucket for you to use in the garden. It is ideal to use your old compost bin and add fresh matter to replenish nutrient content. This will ensure your plants continue to benefit from rich nutrients. You don’t have to remove all compost scraps.
Lawn debris and remove dead plants from your garden bed. As you move around your garden, pick up dead branches, large debris and dropped fruits. Additionally, pluck any spent plants to prevent disease and pests and add all the organic matter to the compost bin after clearance.
Weeds will deplete nutrients meant for your plant: remove all noticeable weeds. Use a garden shovel and pull up the weed by roots and stem. It is recommended to remove the weed by its roots; hence pull it up straight with moderate force. Add the weed to your compost. However, if you believe weeds will grow if you dispose of them in the compost, throw them in the trash. Take time to move around the garden to ensure all the weeds are removed.
Prepare your soil
Ensure all the herbs and vegetables are harvested before you till the soil. Harvest all the remaining plants and crops during the summer-autumn transition period. Scavenge as much crop in your garden as possible and use a basket for easy storage. If you want to grow the same plant next year, you can collect the seeds too.
Check and balance your soil PH. Buy a test kit and do soil sampling using any of the known methods to you. Using your hand or a rake, loosen the soil to aerate the bed. Your soil is likely to be hard and compacted due to stepping on it during summer. A simple garden tool like a rake can help you loosen the top layer of the soil. It is advised to loosen the soil for both raised and garden beds.
Spread fertilizer or compost manure over the soil. You need to do this after the soil is loose. Ensure you use a rich layer of compost or fertilizer to replenish the soil’s nutrients regardless of whether you are growing crops in the spring or the fall. If you notice a depletion of a certain nutrient after several soil tests, you should opt for a fertilizer rich in that particular nutrient rather than using compost.
