Fall gardening chores tend to have a “bedtime” theme – before your plants begin their long winter’s nap, they need to be tended and tucked cozily into their beds. Fall gardening is also an exercise in delayed gratification – new plants will barely put down roots before going dormant, cleaned and amended beds won’t show their gratitude until spring, and bulbs disappear underground, making you wonder if they’ll ever reappear.
Home Maintenance and Repair guru Danny Lipford of Today’s Homeowner says you shouldn’t despair – instead, use this season to clean up, organize, and take stock of your lawn and garden. In November, most of the country experiences the first frost or freeze, and with it, the onset of winter dormancy, and you can even continue many of the gardening chores of September and October as long as your soil isn’t frozen.
Below are a few of the Yard and Garden to-do’s that Lipford advises you do in the Fall:
Annuals and Containers
- Empty and clean out spent annual containers.
- Store clay pots indoors, since they can break in freezing weather.
- Smash up cracked or broken pots to use as drainage in next year’s containers.
- Plant colorful winter annuals such as pansies and ornamental cabbages.
Lawns
- Continue to mow cool-season grasses until they stop growing.
- Rake lawns and remove debris. Recycle leaves as mulch.
- November is the traditional time to apply winterizing fertilizer to your lawn (higher potassium and phosphorus, and lower nitrogen). Apply after grass stops growing but at least a month before the ground freezes.
Fruits and Vegetables
- Till the soil in your vegetable beds and add organic matter or compost to be ready for early spring planting.
- Cut back asparagus tops after they turn yellow.
- Enjoy the final harvest!
Houseplants
- Cut back on feeding houseplants.
- As the days shorten, houseplants will need less water, but make sure they get enough humidity.
- Be on the lookout for spider mites and other pests that can be found in indoor, climate-controlled environment.
- If you have chilled bulbs for the holidays, start forcing them by placing the pots in a relatively cool spot (60º F) with indirect sunlight. Increase temperature and light as green growth and buds appear. Plan for buds within 3-4 weeks.
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