What to do and not do in your Fall Garden

Before your garden begins its winter slumber, there are a few things you can do to set it up for success next year. There are also a couple of things that you should avoid doing in the fall.

Things to Do in the Fall

First, if you do nothing else during the fall gardening season, do these three things:

Do spread compost around your plants.

Compost is organic material – usually food scraps and leaves, but also manure – that has decayed into crumbly goodness. It adds texture, nutrients, and beneficial microbes to the soil. Often called “black gold,” it looks like dark earth, and contrary to what you might have heard, it has a pleasant, earthy fragrance. Simply spread about 5 cm over the ground around your plants. Don’t worry about raking it in; rain, earthworms, and the natural freeze-thaw cycle will do the work of taking it deep into the soil.

Do water your evergreens.

Once the soil freezes, evergreens cannot draw water out of the ground, which makes them susceptible to desiccation from winter cold and wind. It’s very important to water evergreens weekly until the ground freezes solid – don’t stop after a frost! Water at the “dripline” (under the outermost tips of the tree’s branches) to a depth of about 20-30 cm. Measure this using a soil probe or a long screwdriver. Simply push the probe into the ground whereyou watered. It will go easily into moist soil. Measure how far it went; that will tell you how deeply youhave watered the plant.

Do plant and harvest.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and allium (in Ottawa, you can do this into early November most years.). Fall is also a great season to plant perennials, shrubs and trees, as the air is cool while the soil remains warm. Harvest vegetables and herbs, of course, but remember to also “harvest” fall flowers and ornamentals for indoor arrangements. Asters are one example of fall-flowering plants that are long-lasting after cutting. To provide unique interest in a vase, include some seed pods, like the black ones of false indigo (Baptisia australis) or some grass. Japanese fountain grass (Hakonechloa macra) is a colourful choice.

Things NOT to Do in the Fall

There are two things you should not do in the fall.

Don’t do extensive clean up.

Leave fallen leaves on the ground as a winter habitat for pollinators. Leave seed heads on plants like purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.) for birds to eat over the winter. Leave grasses and hydrangea blooms intact, so you can enjoy them from a warm vantage point on a snowy day.

Don’t add mulch.

Leave this task until mid-June next year. Mulch insulates the soil, and plants including bulbs, trees, shrubs, and perennials all need a natural freezethaw cycle.

Luckily, there are only a few tasks your garden needs you to perform in the fall season. These will give it a strong start next year, yet not overburden you with work.