Fall showed up, and color popped overnight. Blue skies, brilliant red and yellow leaves, and crisp weather makes for perfect days for garden clean-up. Let’s get started on the November yard and garden goals.
Leaves: Don’t Give Them Away
Grab a rake. Then rake matted leaves off the lawn to avoid killing grass. Rake out beds and borders where leaves are piled high (great mole/vole hiding place), but don’t rake them to the curb for the city to pick up and haul off to landfills. Shred, mulch, or compost them because they’re garden gold. Pound for pound, they have twice the nutrient content of manure. They’re organic roughage, aerating the soil for better drainage, root growth, and gas exchange, and they’re food for beneficial microbes. But before you start raking, you might want to check out the 12 Rules of Raking from Mother Earth News.
So, once they’re raked, what can you do with your leaves?
- Create a leaf-only compost pile. When the leaves break down, add the organic result to the garden as leaf mold. Shredding the leaves will quicken the breakdown process. If you don’t have room for piles of leaves, put them in plastic bags and poke holes in them, saving them for future use. Leaf mold holds up to 500% of its weight in water (hello, drought) and helps cool roots and foliage, absorbing rainwater runoff. It’s pretty remarkable for something most home gardeners throw away.
- Shred them and apply them as mulch to beds, around shrubs, and over tender perennials for insulation this fall.
- Start a compost pile and add them as the “browns.” Add perennial plant waste and grass clippings for your “greens.”
You can also make something called “leaf mold,” and this video shows you how…
Compost Piles: Start One!
Autumn’s harvest is more than the last of the fruits and veggies. It’s leaves, vegetable plants, summer’s annuals, perennial cut-back material, and weeds. We’re cleaning up to reduce next year’s pest and disease issues, but all your plant debris is food for the compost pile. Determine to create a compost pile this year (the closed bin isn’t necessary unless you’re adding food scraps and live in city limits), and then use the compost in the spring on your garden beds.
Soil Prep: It’s a Must
It’s always a good time to amend your soil, but now is especially good as you put the garden to bed.
If you have wet spots, preparing your soil now will give you a jump on spring. Add PermaTill® (also suitable for addressing vole issues) for more aeration, and other soil enhancers such as Daddy Pete’s Soil Enhancer, which helps break up clay and loosens the soil. Use it for soil amendment or mulching.
As you clean the vegetable garden, add a layer of compost and shredded leaves, turning the leaves into the soil as you go. Improving the soil is the number one job for gardeners.
Weed: You Gotta Do it
Pull those weeds! Weeding and mowing stay on the to-do list until they stop growing. Good news… As it gets cooler, both weeding and mowing start to slow down. Also, remember, you’re weeding for next year, and want to eliminate the chance of weeds going to seed and then roaring back up into the garden come spring. It’s all about weed control; be sure you know about and are on top of any weeds that choose your place!
And, believe it or not, there are some weeds that are considered beneficial. See which five weeds made the cut.
Bulbs: Which Ones to Plant and Which Ones to Dig Up
Plant your spring-blooming bulbs now. If you don’t have garden space, but love those harbingers of spring, plant them in containers. Layer containers with different types of bulbs for extended enjoyment; it’s called lasagna gardening.
AND… It’s time to dig up and store your tender bulbs such as dahlias, gladiolas, and canna lilies for winter. Once the leaves are blackened from frost, dig up the bulbs, wash or brush off the soil, and allow them to dry for two weeks. Store them in a basement or cellar (40 to 50 degrees) in wood chips or peat moss. Cannas can be tossed into bins without the use of wood chips. Learn more about storing bulbs properly and ensure you have healthy bulbs when it’s time to plant them again.
Cut Back Perennials: It’s Either Now or in the Spring
Perennials are those herbaceous, flowering plants that return year to year. And herbaceous means the root lives through the winter, but the plant structure (above the soil) does not. The dead plant material of perennials should be cut back and disposed of. (Hey, maybe put them in your new compost bin!) Even if the leaves are still green, don’t worry. It’s late enough in the season that cutting them back now is fine.
Plant Pansies: They Can Give You Winter Color
Now that you’ve made room in the garden, plant winter pansies for a bright spot of color. It’s not too late.
Houseplants Still Outside? Bring Them In
If you haven’t already, bring in the houseplants. They need time to readjust to indoor environments, so before you start blasting heat, see how to help your houseplants adjust to being back indoors.
Pruning: Now’s NOT the Time
If the boxwoods are growing into the sidewalk, you can trim them back and shape them up a little, but otherwise, leave the major pruning for late winter/early spring. You don’t want to promote new growth this late in the season because it won’t have time to harden off.
Adding Screening Plants: Keep Your Lovable Neighbors
Leaves are dropping, and now we may see our lovable neighbors more than we’d like. Fall is an excellent time to plant a screen and other plants. In fact, we’ve made a list of five tried-and-true evergreens that work really well for screening.
What Else?
- Clean out bird feeders and birdhouses. Use soap and warm water to clean the bird feeders and allow them to dry completely before using them again. This will help avoid potential diseases being passed between birds.
- Store those outdoor pots correctly. Don’t know all the ins and outs? See how to take care of different types of containers for the winter.
- Clean, sharpen, and store tools.
