Putting Your Garden to Bed in Fall

How Do You Prepare Your Garden to Endure the Cold Season?

• Cut back any diseased perennials in your yard.
• Remove the spent, withered, leftover annuals and vegetables including as much of the roots as you can get.
• Harvest any remaining vegetables and herbs. Bring delicate herbs indoors for winter such as rosemary and bay laurel.
• Apply mulch to the soil as it helps to prevent heaving (the upward swelling of soil due to ice) in the freezing temperature.
• Remove tender summer-flowering bulbs such as dahlias and cannas and store them properly for planting next season.

What Should You Do with Your Tools and Garden Features?

• Clean and store any lawn ornaments, garden tools, and supplies, as well as containers that are not winter-hardy.
• Winterize any garden structures such as water features, ponds, and fountains.

How Do You Successfully Winterize Your Irrigation System?

• Turn off the outdoor water supply and detach the garden hoses.
• Drain water from them, stretch them out and run downhill to allow any leftover water to run out.
• Winterize irrigation systems by ensuring that they are empty.

How Should You Fertilize in The Fall?

• Sprinkle blood meal or hen manure to deter squirrels from digging up bulbs from your garden.
• Make use of compost or manure to enrich the garden beds including vegetable gardens.

What Should You Do to Care for Your Garden Until Winter?

• Purchase and plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips.
• Plant vegetables such as garlic in your yard so the roots have time to develop by spring.
• Protect sensitive plants such as roses that are prone to winter damage.
• Burlap your trees and plants as required.
• Continue to weed in the fall to keep growth under control.
• Water trees and shrubs as needed until the ground freezes.