Fall Gardening Tips
By Re McClung, Meerkerk Gardens’ Board President
With fall comes cleaning up your summer gardens and preparing for winter, but don’t forget it’s the perfect time to plant spring bulbs and cool-season vegetables!
Fall Cleanup
Pull out dead annuals and vegetable plants that have finished producing for the season. You can add healthy plant debris to your compost pile, but diseased foliage should be thrown away.
Pull out weeds before they go to seed and spread. This will save you lots of work in the spring!
Rake the fallen leaves from your lawn to prevent fungal diseases. Shred them with a mower to create a nutritious mulch for garden beds or add them to your compost.
Prune dead and diseased material: Cut back any diseased foliage and discard it. You might want to leave some perennials with sturdy stems and seed heads to provide winter interest and food for birds.
Planting and dividing
Plant spring bulbs: This is a prime time to plant bulbs like daffodils, crocus, alliums, and tulips so they establish good root systems before the ground freezes.
Plant trees, shrubs, and hardy perennials: Planting now allows them to establish roots before going dormant.
Add cool-season annuals: Consider planting pansies, violas, and ornamental cabbage or kale for fall interest.
Divide perennials: If perennial plants like hostas or irises are overcrowded, October is a great time to dig them up, divide their root clumps, and replant them while the soil is still warm.
Sow a cover crop: Plant a quick-growing cover crop like winter rye in vacant vegetable beds. This will add nutrients to the soil and prevent erosion over the winter.
And one last and important thought -- Don’t forget to take some time to think about your garden this year. Record what worked well and what didn't. You will be glad you did when you start planning next year’s garden!
……..hmmm what was my best producing tomato plant this year?