As temperatures begin to drop, you should be preparing your lawn and garden for the cold winter months. Finish Fall preparation with confidence. Just follow this helpful checklist for your garden, flower beds, and lawn.
Fall Lawn and Garden Preparation
Whether you live in a warm or cold region, you will need to prepare your garden and soil for cooler weather and possibly freezing temperatures.
Garden Preparation
Keep Growing Root Plants, Potatoes, and Greens – These crops can remain in your garden after a frost. In fact, some of these plants take on a sweeter flavor when harvested at near-freezing temperatures. Just be sure to get them dug up and stored before the ground freezes!
Pull Up Other Plants (Tomatoes, Squash, Peas, Beans, etc.) – If these plants are free of disease, feel free to compost them. If any are diseased, burn or discard them separately.
Remove All Weeds and Debris – Before the ground gets too hard, get rid of weeds and debris where pests love to hide. If you have an area that has far too many weeds to be saved, you can cover that area with black plastic over the winter. This will kill off the weeds there, and prevent more from coming up in the Spring.
Till Plant-Free Beds – As long as you don’t have any remaining plants, use a garden tiller or garden rake to gently till the soil. This is one of the best ways to reduce populations of Japanese beetles, whose grubs live and overwinter in the ground.
Prep Your Garden Soil – Add a layer of compost, leaves, manure (if you have it), and any other nutrients your soil may need. If you’re unsure, try using a soil testing kit.
Lawn Preparation
Mow Low – You can continue to water your lawn whenever it’s dry. But, you will want to set your mower blades on the lowest setting. This will help the sun reach the crown of grass.
Check out our wide selection of lawn mowers HERE!
Fall and Winter Grass Feed – Generally, grasses are classified as either “cool season” for northern climates, or “warm season,” for southern regions. If you live in the land in between that’s home to both types, you might need to check with a lawn-care expert or get a soil test for your lawn.
Once you have the proper grass feed, follow the instructions on the bag to give your lawn the nutrients it needs.Try out this Winterizer Weed Control Grass Feed! It’s perfect for getting your lawn ready for the cold.
Learn When, Why, & How? to Fertilize Your Lawn for Fall in our blog article.
Use the Leaves to Your Advantage – You can add to the organic layer of your soil for free using all those beautiful Fall leaves. Make sure to shred up the leaves and spread them over your lawn 2″-4″ deep. You can also add grass clippings to the mix!
If you have a large plot of land and a lot of trees, you may want to invest in a Chipper Shredder to help with all of your leaves.
You can also use a mower with a mulch setting, like this Poulan Pro Push Mower or a Husqvarna 54″ Rider Mower (must add the mulching kit).
Fall Prep for Everyone
Store Hoses, Nozzles, and Sprinklers – Run your hoses out and make sure there is no water left inside. Do the same with any nozzles or sprinkler attachments. Roll the hoses up and put everything away in your shed for next Spring.
Cover Your Compost – If you have an open compost pile, you’re want to cover it with plastic or a thick layer of straw before it starts to snow.
Want to learn how to create your own compost bin? Check out our DIY Compost Bin and Tips for Composting Beginners article.
Clean the Tools and Shut the Shed – This goes for both garden and lawn tools, of course. You will want to wash and sanitize all your tools. Once you have everything cleaned up, put them away in your shed, where they will wait for you until the next season.
Winter is Coming…Are You Ready?
How does your lawn and garden look before winter? Are you leaving any plants outside? Are you still growing herbs in your garden? Let me know in the comment section below.
For more tips on fertilization, lawn care, and gardening, make sure you visit our Lawn and Garden blog category.
Remember, we post every Friday, so bookmark our blog and visit each week for more rural living tips and tricks from Rural King!