5 Fall Chores for an Easier Spring
As our weather cools down and our beloved gardens begin to snuggle in for fall and winter, now is a great time to set the stage for a successful growing season next year! Here are fives chores you can get going on to set yourself up for an easier spring.
1) Amending Your Soil
The soil level lines in your garden beds will naturally sink a couple inches over the year through natural erosion, watering, and rain, so now is a great time to shorten your list of spring tasks by amending your beds again. We recommend topping off your garden beds with Daddy Pete’s Plant Pleasers® Pete’s Lawn & Garden Soil. Plus, this weather beats moving heavy bags of soil in the spring when it can warm up fast!
2) Mulch Your Beds
Mulching is more than just making your garden beds look neat and tidy—it can protect your precious plants when the colder weather starts coming in. Mulch your perennials, shrubs, and trees, but make sure to leave an empty ring around the trunk or stems to prevent rot and to give you easy watering access. Bagged mulch is great for small areas but getting it by the truckload is more economical if you can afford it. Don’t need enough for a truckload? Ask your neighbors if they want to go in with you!
3) Plant For Spring
Repeat after me—FALL IS FOR PLANTING! We are still in prime time for planting perennials, shrubs, and trees, which means you shouldn’t tuck yourself in for winter just yet. Check out our other blog post here as to why you should consider planting at this time of the year and its added benefits! Now is about the time where you should consider planting spring bulbs as well.
4) Tidy Up! (But Mind Your Bug and Bird Friends)
Clear out spent summer annuals, veggies, and dead or diseased material that looks past the point of return. Consider leaving seed heads on plants like asters, sunflowers, and cosmos for birds to snack on through the next few months. Leaves will soon be covering our lawns and garden beds, which can truly be a visual hassle for some people but there can also be an added benefit to at least leaving some leaves this fall and winter. Fallen leaves are a natural way to enrich your soil as they decay, releasing much needed phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. Leaves also provide a natural habitat for wildlife, including nesting material and shelter for beneficial insects, birds, amphibians, and some small mammals.
5) Housekeeping
Spring cleaning is great, but why not set yourself up for success beforehand? Clean tools like snips, shears, and loppers and make sure you’re storing soil, fertilizers, and other materials properly to use them next year as well!