Leaves are falling. Days are shrinking, nights are stretching. Autumn is not the end of gardening, but a good time to make plans, prepare, and put to bed. And perhaps grow a salad or three.Read on for 9 fall garden chores to do now.
1.Save leaves.
Collect fallen leaves and layer them in your compost pile, or keep a leaf-only pile.
Order and plant bulbs a couple of weeks before the first average frost date for your USDA growing zone. Most bulbs will ship at the right time to be planted.
2. Order spring and summer bulbs.
If you have grown bulbs that are borderline hardy in your region, lift them after their leaves have yellowed or died back (and have fed the bulbs).
3. Lift and store tender or vulnerable bulbs.
Plant garlic now to harvest next summer: select the fattest cloves from your own summer harvest, buy local farmers’ market bulbs, or order garlic online.
4. Plant garlic.
Many leafy greens prefer cool temperatures and can be harvested into winter. Mâche (lamb’s lettuce) germinates when temperatures dip into the 50s, and mustards, spinach, and fava bean leaves also thrive with cold nights.
5. Sow cool-weather greens.
Plant a cover crop in your empty vegetable beds. Red clover fixes nitrogen and also acts as a green mulch to preserve moisture and to help suppress weeds.
6. Green manure.
It is tempting to remove every seedy flowerhead standing, but many of these seeds feed passing birds, and others have ornamental value. Assess what stays and what goes.
7. Don't deadhead.
Reduce next year’s seed-buying budget by saving your own seed. Allow beans and peas to dry before shelling and storing them.
8. Save seeds.
If you are planning to grow crops for the first time, it is helpful to understand the state of your soil and its pH. You can buy soil test kits from many garden centers, or you can obtain one through your local County Cooperative Extension Office.