Preparing Your Garden For Fall is what it is all about today! If you are looking for that perfect Spring Garden you have to start in the Fall!
Seasons change faster than we are prepared for, but being prepared for each season is important when we are talking about our gardens. Fall is just around the corner. It’s time to prepare your garden for the next season before things become cooler and the leaves start to turn.
You’ve already worked a lot on your garden this summer. But before you relax and wait for the next season, it’s high time to do some more work before getting cozy under blankets in front of the fire.
Remove Weeds
Eliminating those weeds before their seeds begin to fall and set new weeds in your garden is extremely important. It’s best to get them under control as early as now so that you can slow down their growth and spreading. It’s also a good way to keep ahead of them when spring comes.
Remember to pull the weeds from the roots so you can get rid of the entire weed all at once. You can also use a spade or fork to make it easier.
Eradicate All Dead Vegetation
Once the summer growing season is over, your garden can often look like a bit of a mess. We recommend dealing with your beds one at a time so that it won’t seem overwhelming.
Also, take a walk around your garden and assess how your plants performed. The end of the growing season is the best time to gather information as your garden will tell you a lot.
Note all the successes and failures you’ve encountered so you won’t forget next year. Invest in a gardening notebook or make a spreadsheet online to document how everything did so you can use it to do even better next season.
Start Planting Cover Crops
Planting has always been more fun than cleaning up. And starting to plant those cover crops in your garden is definitely easy and enjoyable.
Cover crops will help keep soil microbes alive and kicking when winter comes. It will also prevent weeds from growing and reduce the erosion of your valuable topsoil.
Start planting at least four weeks before the first frost and focus on the legumes.
Mulch it up
After removing all the dead vegetation and weeds in your garden, you can add 1 to 2 inches of compost. And also, add a light mulch over it to help protect your soil and prevent the weeds from growing easily.
You want to do this so that you can freeze your soil. Once your soil is frozen, it can kill many pests and diseases. So, don’t add too much mulch, as it could hinder this process.
Preparing your garden for fall and winter can also be a lot of work. You may look at it as putting your garden to bed so that it’ll be much more ready when it’s time to wake up again next spring.
Do you want to see colorful flowering bulbs in your garden next spring? In order for that to happen you have to do your work in the fall. Check out this list of the best bulbs you can plant for fall.
Alliums
Alliums are also known as ornamental flowering onions and are a beautiful addition to any garden. An extra added bonus is that you can eat them, too.
These bulbs don’t require deadheading to encourage further blooming either. In the fall just cut them back and cover them with a thick mulch covering and in the spring pull back the mulch and watch them grow.
If you’re looking for a low-maintenance plant that will look great when it blooms in spring, Alliums are a great choice.
Daffodils
Daffodils are known to signify the arrival of spring. Once you see their lovely trumpet-shaped flowers, you’ll know spring has sprung.
The good thing about these perennials is that rodents usually leave them alone and they also come back and flower every year.
Just plant the bulbs in Autumn and in late Winter or Spring you’ll see them bloom. They are hardy anywhere except hot, wet areas, such as south Florida.
Tulips
Tulips come in many different colors and they definitely look great when they blossom in spring.
You can plant these perennials in late Fall before the ground freezes. If you plant many with differing bloom times you can ensure your garden will have blooming Tulips from early to late Spring.
Hyacinth
You’ll surely love the smell of these fragrant perennials as they flower during late Spring.
Remember to have them planted under full sun, partly shady is good, too. When planting hyacinths, look for the top varieties such as Carnegie, Delft Blue, and Dark Dimension.
Crocus
This perennial generally sprouts from the corm unlike the true bulbs. There’s also a wide variety of crocus flowers for you to choose from.
Crocuses grow extremely well under full sun and when planted in gritty soil.
Also, here are a few tips when planting your bulbs in the Fall:
- When planting different bulb varieties, it’s best practice to keep the label near the bulbs so you have an idea of what you’ve planted. They vary in shapes and sizes but it’s actually very easy for them to get mixed up.
- The best time to plant your bulbs would be during the coolest time of the season or when the temperature reaches around 50 degrees in the afternoon or at night.
- The larger the bulb, the deeper your planting hole should be. Large bulbs need to be planted around 8 inches deep while smaller bulbs need to be planted around 5 inches deep.
- Always remember to plant the bulb with the pointy side facing up.
- It’s recommended to group the same bulbs together when you plant so that they will appear as flower clusters in your garden in the spring.
Preparing your Spring garden gorgeousness starts in the Fall. Make your preparations and you’ll enjoy early morning coffee while reaping the beautiful rewards of your labor next Spring.
To check out some more Garden posts… click right here
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Preparing your Garden for Fall
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