By this point in time, you should be harvesting the last crops from your home garden, but this doesn’t mean you’re done. There are some things you need to do in the fall.
Spending time in the fall to maintain your garden can give you a head start on the growing season. Read on to discover some gardening tips for fall.
Remove All Vegetation from Your Garden
After you have gathered all of the crops from your garden, you want to remove any plants that are still in that space. Dead or decaying plants can create an ideal environment for diseases and pests.
If you compost, only put plants from your garden into the pile if they don’t show signs of disease. Funguses from tomatoes and other plants can spread to your compost, which will then spread to any plant you place your compost around.
You might think that leaving dead or decaying plants in the ground will help fertilize your soil, but it may actually encourage weed growth or harm young plants in the spring.
Till the Soil
To ensure that you have removed all vegetation and to get nutrients into the ground before spring, you’ll want to till the soil in your garden. You can either do this task by hand, or you can rent/buy tilling equipment.
You may have heard that you shouldn’t till your garden, as this can stir up weed seeds, which will then lead to weed growth, or that the process will disturb the bacteria and earthworms in the soil. It may also lead to erosion.
All of these could happen, but only if you over till.
Tilling in the fall is the best way to get the soil ready for new crops in the spring because it breaks up clumps that form in hard, compacted soil. It can also expose caterpillars and beetles that damage your garden. If you stir up these pests, make sure to remove them as soon as possible.
When you till, this also gives you the opportunity to mix manure, leaf matter and compost into the soil. This ensures that the ground has the necessary nutrients to grow a healthy garden in the spring.
You’ll want to wait four to seven days after tilling to add the manure, leaf matter or compost. This ensures that the weeds you pulled dry out and die so that they don’t grow back in the spring.
Determining whether hand tilling or using equipment is the best choice for you will depend on how large your garden is. If hand tilling will take an extremely long time, then having equipment is your best option. Should you plan on gardening for years, then buying a tiller that can be used again will be worth the investment.
Plant Fall Crops
After you have prepared your garden soil, you then have the option of planting fall crops. If you have bulbs that you want to grow in the spring, now is the time to get them into the ground. You also have the option of growing cool-weather vegetables in your garden or adding some color before winter rolls around.
The fall vegetables you might consider planting include:
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Chard
- Onions
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Beets
- Lettuce
- Broccoli
- Among others
When it comes to flowers that will make your garden look pretty, you might consider planting the following:
- Pansies
- Cyclamen
- Asters
- Chrysanthemums
Add Some Cover Crops
If you decide that you don’t want to mess with harvesting plants late into the fall, then you might want to consider adding cover crops. These protect your soil from drying out, as well as add nutrients and reduce weed growth.
Some of the plants you can use as cover crops for your garden include winter rye, mammoth red clover or ryegrass.
Cover crops work best when planted thick. You’ll want to cut them down before they have a chance to flower and seed. If allowed to get to this point, they’ll take nutrients out of your soil instead of adding them back in.
Add Mulch
Of course, you don’t have to plant anything in your garden over the fall if you don’t want to. However, to ensure that your garden is ready for crops in the spring, you’ll want to add some mulch. This will add nutrients to the soil, reduce weed growth and reduce the chances of erosion.
To get the best results from mulching, you want to use newspaper, grass clippings, fallen leaves, straw or cardboard. Make sure the mulch layer is at least three inches thick. Since many pests make their homes in mulch, apply it after the first freeze.
Mulch can be used in conjunction with cover crops to protect your garden. This is beneficial if the cover crops don’t cover all of the soil.
Take Care of Your Gardening Tools
In addition to maintaining your garden bed during the fall, now is a good time to take care of your tools as well. If you have pots that have been used for herbs or other plants, make sure to clean them before putting them away. This will ensure that any diseases or pests are removed before you use the pots next season.
A stiff-bristled brush can help you scour the pots before you rinse them out. Once they are clean, you’ll want to store them upside down so that water can’t get inside and freeze. Or you can stack them to save yourself space.
The fall is also a good time to clean your gardening tools and put them away neatly in a storage bin or your shed. Disconnect garden hoses from the water source to prevent freezing and breaking, and then roll them up and store them out of the way.
Work Now Pays off Later
Taking the time to maintain your garden in the fall will ensure it’s ready for the plants in spring. Click here for best plants to grow in spring. It also gets you outside for some fresh air and exercise before the cold weather forces you indoors.