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Fall Gardening Ideas
As we move past this year's harvest and into garden clean up now is a good time to be thinking about any changes you want to make to your garden or starting a new garden. If you are thinking about perennials most of those are either on sale now or will be shortly depending on where you live. They might look a little bedraggled right now but remember that you are planting for spring and the off season savings make them a good buy.
Now is also a good time to have your garden soil tested. Any amendments you need to make can be worked into the soil and overwinter.
Your flowers may soon be wilting but Mums are hardy this time of year and a great plant to bring inside for the winter. Just remember they like a lot of water and fertilizer so some kind of soluble fertilizer once a week will keep them healthy. Then you can replant them outside next spring.
If you like berry plants you can generally find them on sale now as the big names try to get rid of this season's plants. Trees, shrubs and ornamentals will be priced down as well. If you have any gaps in your flowers or other landscaping or if you are looking for windbreaks for larger acreage now would be a good time to go shopping.
Now is a good time to check your timbers if you have a raised garden and replace any that are rotting.
I don't care where you live you can find a hydrangea that will grow in your area. I have a couple planted outside and they do remarkably well in the winter. However, if you plant them in pots you can bring them inside for the winter. They take a lot of water if you want them to flower. Hydrangeas are really cool though. If you don't like the flower color then change it! It takes a long time but you can actually alter the color of the flowers by adjusting the soil pH. If you lower the pH you will get blue flowers and if you increase it you will get pink flowers. Just make sure you don't go above 7.5 pH or you will affect the growth of the plant. Neato huh? The flower will dry on the stalks. You can bring them inside for a beautiful dried flower arrangement. To keep them from crumbling just sprits them with a little hair spray.
If you have wild edibles many of them can be transplanted and brought indoors. Purslane is one of my favorites and it grows just about anywhere. Pinch off a piece and stick it into a pot. In a week or so it will have sprouted roots and be growing.
If you have indoor window boxes now is a great time to fill those with perennials. You'll be blessed with color through the winter then you can transplant them outside in the spring. The best part is you can purchase them for a lot less now than you will next spring!!
If I think of anything else I'll add it here.
EDIT:
Sping bulbs. Of course!! Thanks Winnie. Now is the time to be preparing your beds for spring bulbs. You don't have to be stuck with just tulips or crocus although both bring a lot of beauty to the flower bed and there are an amazing number of varieties within both plants. Here are some other ideas on bulbs:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/bulbs/springbulbs.cfm
Make certain you don't add any diseased plants to your compost pile. Bag and discard or burn if you can. I'm not a fan of air pollution but I don't like the thought of plastic bags and plants compacted in a land fill where they will never rot either. Use your best judgement.
It's okay to remove dead branches from you fruit trees and roses but still too early to prune.
I would imagine that most of you are like me in that you care for your tools after you use them but if not then fall is a good time to make certain your garden tools are cleaned up and given a light wipe with oil to protect them before you put them away for the winter. Remember that your garden tools are being used around food so be a bit particular on the oil you use on them. I use food grade mineral oil instead of motor oil or 3-in-1 or something similar. I don't want that kind of oil in my garden.
Now is also a good time to put together your plans for crop rotation next year. If you decide on what and where you want to plant you can take advantage of the late season savings I outlined above.
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I think a winter garden planting list, with harvest times could be really interesting. I'll have to hunt one up! I've never planted a fall garden before.
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As soon as the weather cools, I add on to the garden. I rushed a section this year and didn't get the soil amendments in properly so will do it right as soon as the late bean harvest decides to set fruit. Or not. Usually after the first killing frost I'll cover a new section with manure and compost with a layer of loam over the top to keep the neighbors from complaining. A seeding of annual ryegrass keeps the loam from washing away in the end of winter rains.
I'm trying to winter over Purple Sprouting broccoli this year. It needs a cold snap to set flowering shoots. So eventually I'll have to set up some sort of protective frame for it.
I have a turkey fig tree new this year (a gift). Have it on wheels so it can go in the garage for the winter. There's a guy near where I work that keeps his outside but he wraps it up every year in a tarp with an electric roof de-icer coiled inside it to keep it from freezing off. Not sure I want to go that far. He gets a great fruit set on it though.
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I had intended to do a large fall garden this year. Peas, carrots, parsnips, beets, brocholi, cauiliflour, brussel sprouts, cabbage, leeks, & onions. After the wife had to get her rotator cuff repaired, most everything got put on hold. Now i'm down to building soil, planting garlic, sowing a green manure crop and probably adding to our fruit tree/berry orchard. Also gonna rebuild our grape arbor. Maybe next year.
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I am foregoing a winter garden this year to get my allotment into decent shape for next year. The pleasure garden has been a picture, when the neighbours escaped Rabbits have left it alone. I have just planted out some autumn bedding plants (Violas) and am getting some bulbs this week for colour early spring.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Curly Kale are routinely overwintered here, Lowkey, this type of Broccoli is rarely harvested before January over here. They are both a winter staple.
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Still 106 here. Once it starts to cool off, it's time to start growing again! :)
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Avoid the temptation to cut dried flowers and stalks with seeds and berries. They will provide wild feed for birds this winter. If you have local or native plants in place then be sure to leave them. Local wildlife will use them for food over the winter just like they will in the woods. You can clean in and around the plants to remove dead debris and leaves but leave the plants themselves standing.
We talked earlier about maintaining carrots for two years to let seed. If you have plans to do that then make certain you mark them in your garden so you will know where they are next spring before their tops start to sprout again. You can cover them with leaves or straw when the first reported frost is due.
If you plan to plant garlic then do it before October. That will give your garlic time to root but it won't have time to pop through the soil. Garlic needs a pH of 6.2 to 7.0 and needs two months of cold weather (40° F) to induce bulbs. That's why now is a good time to plant. Plant your bulbs four to six inches apart and about four inches deep with the root side down. You will also want to mulch them over the winter to protect them from freezing.
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got cabbage broccoli and swiss chard goin for the fall plants
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You should be in good shape and protected from cabbage worms and those stupid broccoli worms. I think we're too late into the season for them to bother you. The nights have been getting cooler here in Indiana and I assume the same for you. Just cover them with a sheet some other method to protect them from frosty nights and you should be good to go.
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Now is also the time to start splitting your perennials. I have just split the Alpine Strawberries. I started with 5 BIG plants, I now have more than 40! It's also the time to take cuttings for propagation, I have some Pinks and Lavender on the go. The neighbours have had some of the Strawberries, and I hope to pass on some of the cuttings. That's the good thing about splitting plants, you can spread the joy.
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