Fall Garden Checklist

It’s an invigorating time of year to be out in the garden. Warm days, cold nights, and no bugs! That’s a good thing because there’s a lot to get done before winter arrives. Here is our Fall Garden Checklist to help you get started:

• Plant spring flowering bulbs. Bulbtone is a great long-lasting, slow-release fertilizer — 100% natural and organic ingredients with no fillers or sludges. Spray Everguard right on the bulbs to deter pests. Add Soil Perfector to your holes — deer don’t like chewing on its gritty texture.
• Bring houseplants in from the porch, and use Neem Oil to kill any bugs hitching a ride. Repot any that have outgrown their containers. Increase pot size by one each each time.
• Uproot and compost any dead annuals.
• Collect dried seeds and cuttings from your flowers and veggies and store them away for later sewing.
• Pot up tender perennials, herbs, and bulbs, like dahlia, cannas, and gladiolus. Store in a protected and cool place, like your garage.
• Keep trees and shrubs well watered until the ground freezes. They may look dormant, but their roots are still actively growing. Use SuperThrive to encourage root growth. Stake newly planted trees. Tree Wrap trunks to prevent rodent girdling and sun scald.
• Cut back perennials with the appropriate tools. Definitely cut back diseased perennials and remove all foliage and dispose of it somewhere other than the compost. Leave some flowers and grasses that are planted away from your house so birds and critters can find food and protection.
• Top dress beds with 1- 2 inches of compost. The action of freezing and thawing, with some extra help from the earthworms, will work it into the soil for you. Apply 2-4 inches salt marsh hay or bark mulch to perennials, shrubs, and trees for weed control, soil amendment, and winter protection.
• Apply Wilt Pruf to evergreens when temps are above 32-40 degrees F.
• Mulch or compost fallen leaves or yard waste.
• Take a soil test so you can make any amendments by early spring. Fall is the ideal time to get a soil test to determine if a lime application is needed to adjust soil pH to the optimum range for good plant growth. The best time to apply lime is during the fall, since lime applied at this time has enough time to change the soil pH by next spring.
• Aerate, fertilize, and overseed to rejuvenate your lawn. Aerate to alleviate soil compaction, improve water and nutrient movement in the soil, and encourage root growth. Top dress with bagged or bulk delivery compost and soil. Overseed with high-quality grass seed, and fertilize with North Country Organics’ ProGro fertilizer.
• Start a compost pile using disease and insect free plant material. Grass clippings and fallen tree leaves can be included in the compost pile.
• Remove dropped fruits around crabapples and other fruit trees. Removing dropped fruit from the ground helps to reduce insect and disease carryover to next year.
• Empty and clean concrete and pottery containers. Store inside or upside down.
• Continue to weed up until the first frost. Like trees, weeds have not stopped rooting and growing yet.
• Disinfect bird feeders and get them ready for use.
• Disinfect, sharpen, and oil your garden tools before storing them away. Replace any that have worn out.
• Enjoy a nice hot cider outside, appreciating your good, hard work, and then cover your patio furniture up. There, you’re done!

You can find all these tools and materials in our garden store now. Just come on in and we can help you get situated. Want a printable copy of this list? Click here.