Fall Gardening To Do List!

1.   Trim back leggy perennials by 50% to prevent breakage from snow or wind.

2.   Give your garden a final weeding for the year. This will help cut down on the number and varieties of weeds that spring up next year. Do not dispose of weeds or weed seed heads in your compost pile, instead dispose of them at your local landfill.

3.   Top dress your garden with a non-manure based compost. Manure, unless properly composted is high in salts and weed seeds.

4.   Lift tender bulbs such as Dahlias before the first frost, dry in a cool, dark and airy place.  Store in a breathable container in dry peat moss in a very cool, dark spot.

5.   Stake young trees to prevent wind damage, making sure that you allow 3”-4” of play in the staking. Remove stakes and ties in the spring to prevent damage to the tree from girdling.

6.   Install mouse/rabbit guards around trunks of young trees. Install wire mesh guards of hardware cloth or chicken wire for your fruit trees and rose bushes.  Rabbits, gophers and mice can girdle the trees and browse rose  canes to the graft union.

7.   Wrap young tree trunks to prevent sun scald and splitting.

8.   Set up your cold frame now.  It won't be as easy in late winter when you will need it.

9.   Put up additional feeders and add a heater to a bird bath to accommodate the birds' winter needs. .

10.   Before the first frost warning, dig parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, horseradish, etc. root veggies for the table and for cool storage.

11.   At news of an overnight frost warning, pick all tomatoes, peppers, squash and other veggies and store in a cool dark location.

12.   Tomatoes can be ripened in sealed heavy-duty paper shopping bags, with a sheet of newspaper between the layers, stored in a cool dark place.   Check them every few days to remove ripe ones, and reseal the bag.

13.   Plant tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinth and lilies before the ground freezes – for more information on planting

14.   Divide and replant perennials and transplant summer and fall blooming shrubs before the ground freezes. Water newly transplanted shrubs and perennials thoroughly for 3-4 weeks even if you receive rain during this time.

15.    Clean, sharpen and oil your hand tools and store away for next spring.

16.    Take stock of your container gardens. For pots that contain only annuals, remove all plants and soil from the pot. Clean out the container with a pot brush and store in a barn or shed until next spring. If you have container gardens that contain perennials and annuals, remove all the annuals from the pot. You can either plant the perennials in your garden at this time or leave them in the pot to over winter. If you keep you perennials in your pots over winter you have two choices:

1. Place your perennial container gardens in a barn or shed where they will be kept cold enough to stay dormant, but will not go through the freeze / thaw cycle.
2. Dig a trench in your vegetable garden or in another vacant area of your garden and bury the container with the perennials still planted to the lip of the container. This will help to insulate the pot during the winter and the container garden will still receive moisture from snow and rain. Make sure that the ground underneath the pot drains well.