Fall Lawn Care and Gardening Tips
Autumn is not only a time for harvesting, it’s also an important season for fall gardening. From late summer through the month of October, you can enjoy a plentiful crop of produce, as well as prepare your flower beds and vegetable gardens for winter and a healthy spring season.
It’s important to know your plant or cold hardiness zone; it serves as a guideline for growing plants that are likely to survive your climate’s coldest winter temperatures. If you live in the Midwest, your garden likely falls in hardiness zone 5, which blankets large portions of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Ohio. If you’re not sure which hardiness zone you live in, check a USDA plant hardiness zone map or search by zip code. Once you know your hardiness zone, you’ll better understand what to plant, when to plant it and how to help it weather the winter, if applicable.
Here are 10 helpful fall gardening how-to’s designed to put fresh vegetables on your table, keep your perennials safe, and enrich your soil for the upcoming year.
1. Cultivate a crop of fall vegetables and herbs, beginning in August
There are a number of herbs and vegetables – mainly greens and roots – that grow well in the cooler temperatures of fall, including parsley, chives, mustard, dill, coriander, snap beans, collards, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, spinach, onions, radishes, turnips, beets, rutabaga and others. The right time for planting depends on plant type, variety and form (seed vs. transplant), and a late summer mulching can extend the growing season a short while. For optimal results, be sure to research or ask an expert before planting.
2. Plant spring-blooming bulbs
Nothing will pull you out of the winter doldrums as quickly as seeing the first flowers of spring pop up when temperatures begin to warm. However, in order to experience this beauty, you must plant spring-blooming bulbs in the fall. Crocuses, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and other “fall bulbs” are great choices. For best results, plant them root-end down in a sunny location with good drainage, water them, and then mulch them after the ground freezes.
3. Dig up and store delicate bulbs
Some tropical plant bulbs (rhizomes, corms and tubers) that grow well in the Midwest’s hot, humid summer cannot survive its cold, harsh winter. Dahlias, caladium, canna, elephant ear, gladiolas and certain types of begonias should be gently dug up and stored in a cool, dry, frost-free place (a bucket or box in your garage that contains some peat moss, for example) until next spring when it’s time for replanting.
4. Divide your perennials to revitalize them
When certain types of perennials get too large, they are not as productive. Fall is the perfect time to divide them because temperatures are cooler, and plants have time to create new roots. Dig them up at the drip line, slice down through the center and then quarter the clump, if you wish. Spread them out when you replant, choosing the healthiest plants first. Keep them well watered but don’t drown them. Perennials that bloom in late summer and fall should be divided in the spring.
5. Plant or move trees and shrubs
Mid-August through mid-October can be a good time for transplanting certain trees and shrubs – especially deciduous ones – because warm soil temperatures and stable moisture levels promote good root growth before winter. Your best tree and shrub choices include those from your local garden center that are container-grown or balled and burlapped.
When selecting or moving a tree or shrub, make sure it’s one that can be successfully planted in the fall. Certain conifers do better when planted in late summer or early fall, and there are several hard-to-establish species that you should avoid planting in autumn altogether.
Rule of thumb: research or ask an expert before you transplant. They would most likely recommend to care for your tree or shrub properly by digging it up correctly (if applicable), planting it at the right depth, watering it, mulching it and, if necessary, staking it.
6. Enrich your soil with compost in preparation for spring planting
If you’ve been making compost all spring and summer, fall is the best time to add a large amount of it to your garden soil. You can also use grass clippings combined with dead leaves. Be sure to mix it into the soil after the first hard frost but before the ground is frozen. If you don’t have your own compost, purchasing sweet peet from your local garden center is a good alternative.
7. Do some garden construction
Because the soil is warm and workable and the weather is pleasant, fall is ideal for any type of garden construction, including edging, raised beds, water gardens and rock gardens. Of course, water gardens must be properly winterized, including removal of the pond pump.
8. Get roses ready – or hardened off – for the cold
Certain types of roses may need a little extra protection, known as hardening off, during the cold winter months.
This simple process involves:
1) stopping the use of fertilizer six weeks before a frost
2) allowing dead flowers to go to seed
3) covering the base of the bush with some extra topsoil when nights get frosty
4) covering the base with mulch after the ground is completely frozen
Note: if the fall is dry, be sure to water rose bushes well before the ground freezes. Then, when temperatures begin warming up in early spring, gradually remove the mulch and dirt.
9. Spend some time pulling or spraying weeds
Any time you spend weeding in the fall can help reduce the number of bothersome weeds that normally appear in the spring. So, get rid of as many as possible. Completing this task in the fall can allow you to have more time come spring to enjoy your flowers.
10. Mulch to protect plants from sudden temperature swings
The freezing and thawing process associated with season changes can cause a literal upheaval with plants. Applying a good layer of mulch – such as grass clippings, hay or straw, leaves, pine needles or landscaping mulch from a local garden center – after the first hard frost will help keep soil temperatures cold and prevent delicate roots from getting damaged if they become exposed.
And don't forget, you can buy your mulch online with our easy-to-use mulch calculator.