Fall Garden Tips (PHOTOS)

You've been weeding until your back hurts all summer, but your job isn't over yet. Before the frost sets in there is plenty to do in your garden to keep it healthy and beautiful, and set it up for the spring.

Every area of the US is different. In Vermont you'll want to take precautions to protect young plants from the freezing cold, whereas in Santa Barbara that won't be as much as a concern. Regardless, there are some garden tasks that are important in every climate.

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Get Your Spring Bulbs

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If you want little shoots of green peeking up through the snow in the spring, you’ll want to choose and plant your bulbs now. Run to the nursery and see what they have available, but daffodils, tulips, and crocuses are popular choices. Make sure to plant them at an appropriate depth. Daffodils and tulips do best at six inches deep, and crocuses at three inches. Depending on where you are, these bulbs should be in the ground by the end of October so they can establish roots before winter.

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If you want little shoots of green peeking up through the snow in the spring, you’ll want to choose and plant your bulbs now.

Run to the nursery and see what they have available, but daffodils, tulips, and crocuses are popular choices.

Make sure to plant them at an appropriate depth. Daffodils and tulips do best at six inches deep, and crocuses at three inches. Depending on where you are, these bulbs should be in the ground by the end of October so they can establish roots before winter.

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Fall Garden Tip

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Not Worth The Effort Hand Me My Trowel; I'm All Over It

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Comments

[skyslimit]

01:53 AM on 09/12/2010

I live in San Francisco winter is a foreign entity

[Farmer Lynda]

01:48 AM on 09/11/2010

Really? This is the extent of the Fall gardening tips in the "Green" section?

How about planting cabbage, spinach, arugula, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, beets, garlic (depending upon region)? They're greener than the choices above, on many levels.

And don't forget... winter is bare root season. A great time to purchase and plant apples, pears, persimmons, pomegranates, peaches, nectarines, plums, and all sorts of berries.

Lynda

http://wisdomoftheradish.wordpress.com

[Alden Wicker]

11:10 AM on 09/13/2010

Thanks for your comment Farmer Lynda, I totally agree! I hope readers include some fruit-bearing shrubs and trees when choosing what to plant this season. There's nothing like picking fresh blackberries for a snack.

[Vivian Alicia Evans]

07:00 PM on 09/10/2010

Great article.

Got my bulbs. Going to look at planting some seeds too! Going to get some native shrubs from my grandmother and plant them. Last year I left things pretty natural and did not cut down alot of my plants thinking the local birds would eat the seed pods of my sed. This year I'm going to cut everything down. Most leaves will be dumped in our green recycling bin (our district creates compost with it) but I will save some that we will run the mower over and put in bags with some compost to have as free much for next spring. I'm going to amend my soil with compost from our own compost heap and buy some stuff made locally.

[LochNessMonster8]

03:50 PM on 09/10/2010

*Sigh* I'm just waiting for the giant tree in my backyard to finish dumping its leaves all over the place so I can spend 5-10 hours raking them.

[IMOPINIONH8D]

06:15 PM on 09/10/2010

Mulch or compost those leaves, I live next to the Daniel Boone Natl Forest lots of trees and lots of leaves. Flowers and vegetables love the leaf compost. Try it you'll like it plus they are free.

[firewmn]

01:08 PM on 09/10/2010

my gardens were goregous but our weather here in Montana is turning quickly- time for putting my garedns to bed. All to short..

[TheFabOne]

12:52 PM on 09/10/2010

Tips 1-6:

"Give it up. If you didn't get your lazy asss out there before June, tough luck. Winter will be here before you know it."

[Josephus]

12:43 PM on 09/10/2010

Not one word about fall planting of veggies. Shame! So far we have cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, lettuce, arugula, late tomatoes, squash, onions, garlic, coming up and will be eating them into December/January. And we live in Illinois. Fall is the best time for cole crops especially because of absence of most bugs.

When the first frost comes in late Oct. or early Nov. we move to the cold frame.

I also agree with "no exit" regarding the timing of clean-up. Later is better than sooner.

[LochNessMonster8]

03:53 PM on 09/10/2010

Have you ever used a 'Topsy-Turvy' to grow vegetables? I live in MI and those things work wonders for growing tomatoes quickly. The bonus is that because it hangs the plant upside down and away from the ground, squirrels and other creatures can't steal my tomatoes :-)

[Josephus]

11:00 AM on 09/15/2010

I grow almost 200 tomato plants of all varieties. If I lived in an apartment or condo I might use a Topsy Turvy but it's not practical for my purposes. Thanks

[caad4]

12:03 PM on 09/10/2010

Those are violas, not pansies.

[BlueRoseofTexas]

11:57 AM on 09/10/2010

Oh how I miss daffodils and tulips! In Houston they just don't make it. Not cold enough in the winter.

[no exit]

11:00 AM on 09/10/2010

I agree with everything except, "clean up." That is a job that should be done in early spring. Under all the leaves, branches, and seedpods is growth that needs the cover for protection. Dead flower heads and other plants provide sustenance for birds and beneficial insects all winter long. A great deal of your mulching is already done and it is the way nature intended. It might not look gorgeous, but it's winter and it's the best thing you can do for your garden. I don't cut back my roses until early spring either, but that is definitely a personal preference.

I've been an organic gardener for over 55 years and most people listen to me when I talk about gardening - some people don't. I'd guess you'd have to see my gardens.

[Amanda Donovan]

04:57 PM on 09/11/2010

good advice! should i not deadhead then? we already have mulch down and landscapers cloth to battle a terrible invasive weed that chokes everything, so we arent going to mulch again, but we normally rake all of the fallen leaves into the beds for insulation, then clean it up in the spring. we have a huge black walnut tree, and someone told us not to compost anything from that or we risk killing a bunch of established perennials. is that right?

[no exit]

06:27 PM on 09/11/2010

I deadhead throughout the season as it encourages the flowers to keep blooming, but by the end of September, I've stopped. Depends on your growing season - we definitely have a winter here so I try to leave as much for the birds as I can.

Walnut trees don't grow around here but I remember my grandmother saying never plant anything under a walnut tree. Apparently they produce a chemical that acts as a natural herbicide. I guess I wouldn't use the leaves for mulch. What on earth do people do with the leaves, I wonder?

[mooph]

10:58 AM on 09/10/2010

How about planting something one could eat?

[janie@atthelake]

11:04 AM on 09/10/2010

OT, but what a face! fanned just for your AV pup! What a face.