Fall Garden Cleanup Checklist
Here’s a basic checklist to use as you put your gardens to bed for the year.
1. Add leaves and grass clippings to your compost pile.
2. Dig and harvest all vegetables before frost. Place green tomatoes on shelves in a cool area so they can ripen slowly. Parsnips, turnips, and carrots may be left in the ground. Some gardeners say this improves their flavor.
3. Mulch strawberry beds, roses, tender perennials, and plants with straw to help prevent winter damage.
4. Do an over-seeding where lawns are sparse. Fall is nature’s seeding time so a little help now will help eliminate bare or thin spots later.
5. Apply wilt-proof sprays to tender, broad-leaved evergreens to help reduce the drying effects of winter winds, especially on newly planted shrubs.
6. Stake any newly planted trees to help them get through their first winter.
7. If bagworms or late insects attack, physically remove and destroy them. Check trees and shrubs for scales and other pests. If you find any, plan an early dormant oil spray before flowers or leaves appear on fruit trees.
8. Pull up annuals and prune perennials as a good cleanup practice.
9. Begin fertilizing plan for houseplants. As home heat goes on, it stimulates plant growth which means you will need to pay more attention to fertilizing and watering.
10. Do final mowing raking and make notes of lawn care projects for the spring.
11. If you have wet spring weather, plan to dig or till your vegetable garden in the fall so you can get an early start next spring.
12. Remove old fruiting canes of berry bushes. Prune grape and blueberries.
This article was published by the staff at Farmers' Almanac. Do you have a question or an idea for an article? Contact us!
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
