Feature Cool Season Cleanup
Fall Garden Prep
How to Wrap Up Your Gardening Season and Prepare for Winter
By Christy Caplan can check out the dates for your zone in the Farmers Almanac.
As autumn arrives, the landscape transforms into a breathtaking palette of reds, oranges and yellows, painting a picturesque scene that beckons admiration. Amidst this natural splendor, the importance of fall cleanup becomes evident for any garden enthusiast. Raking leaves, digging up perennials and preparing the soil for winter are essential tasks that ensure the garden remains healthy.
These activities enhance the yard ' s immediate beauty and lay the groundwork for a flourishing garden in the coming seasons.
Fall cleanup has its advantages over summer gardening. There aren’ t as many pests to deal with and tucking in your garden gives you a good reason to be outside. Most garden clean-up tasks need to take place before the first frost. Frost dates are probabilities based on the temperature records for a given area over 30 years, from 1951 to 1980. The information is readily available; typically, the first frost doesn’ t happen in some zones until late fall. Dahlias are a great example of flowers left in the ground until right before your first frost. You
Assessment and Planning
Fall chores may seem endless, but as you survey your garden in late autumn, you ' ll begin to see what thrived, what faltered and why. Late fall is the perfect time to tidy up your garden while also jotting down notes in your garden journal, capturing insights and ideas for next year ' s improvements.
What has your garden taught you? The effects of nature on our gardens should be embraced, as there are always lessons to be learned.
October is a great time to observe: Fall is the time for making notes! Keeping a list of whether your greens did great or your beets needed more sun are a few items worth noting.
Jot notes in your journal: Keep a simple garden journal that includes planting dates, varieties and soil amendments used— record growing conditions, weather and rainfall amounts.
Plant a few flower bulbs to add color later: Calm the urge to plant by tucking in a few. Daffodils, tulips and crocuses can be planted to add a little color in early spring.
26 AcreageLife October 2024 AcreageLife. com