Autumn Gardening Preparations 

Fall is in the air. The leaves are starting to change colors, the growth rate of your grass has slowed, and the days are growing shorter. No matter where you live, there is a renewed crispiness to the air that heralds in the season and tells you that it’s time for autumn gardening preparations. 

Garden Prep

Autumn is a busy time in the garden. You’ll want to start planning and prepping for the upcoming spring season. It is time to start cleaning up your flower beds and preparing your soil to minimize problems when the growing season arrives. Also, you’ll want to get those spring-blooming bulbs in the ground plus pull the tender summer bulbs that cannot make it through the winter. Preparing the landscape every fall is one of those chores that help ensure you’ll have a beautiful and bountiful garden next year. 

Plant Choices 

In the fall, your garden is going to need some TLC to protect the plants from the cold weather. You can also use the time to plant your spring bulbs. You might even want to grow a few cool-season plants to brighten up your landscape during autumn. Many plants will thrive until the first hard freeze

Below are a few great fall plant choices to add to your garden: 

• Kale
• Asters
• Pansies
• Cyclamen
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Lettuce
• Radishes
• Roo crops
• Chrysanthemums 

It is also a great time to plant some shrubs and trees. The winter will give them a dormant period before they start growing again which can minimize shock. In the spring, when they start to spring to life, be sure to fertilize using Humboldts Golden Tree to increase growth. 

Extend Your Harvest

As mentioned, certain Brassicas like broccoli and cabbage all grow well in the fall. You can even start long neck garlic and kale in the garden for a winter harvest. Cover the crops or use row covers if frost or snow are expected to extend the harvest. Mulch and cold frames are also beneficial for added protection. 

Clean Up Before the Snow

It’s time to winterize your lawn furniture and don’t forget about water features. Rake all the leaves and bag them. If you have a mulching mower, you might want to mulch them. Or you can mow them into a grass catcher and discard Many people like to rake them into the vegetable garden to add organic debris to the soil and increase the nitrogen content for the following years vegetables. Also, the leaf mulch will prevent unwanted weed growth. 

When the plants lose their leaves, you might want to consider using a foliar or system herbicide to kill off problem plants such as morning glory. 

Ideally, you should always remove plant debris to prevent future pests, diseases or weeds that can overwinter in the substance and attack your delicate plants the next season. Apply a thin layer of compost to the soil to add nutrients for the following spring. 

Fall garden preparations are a natural part of the season. They don’t take a great deal of time, but you will reap the benefits the following spring when your garden starts to grow. 

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