When summer has given way to autumn, you probably begin to be aware that your garden doesn’t look as healthy as it did before. It is crucial for fall cleanup and maintenance so that you could keep the garden in excellent shape. The following is a garden cleanup checklist that will help your garden stay producing and look great into winter as well as next year.
1. Clean Out Debris
Organic waste like weeds and leaves is a haven for pests in the winter. Also, excessive yard debris could cause damage to the drainage of your yard and become a problem when all the snow melts.
2. Remove Dead Shrubs and Trees
Check the shrubs and trees to find damaged, dead, or diseased branches and remove them as they could break and fall to cause trouble during the snowfall in the winter.
3. Don’t Stop Mowing
It is important to keep watering and mowing the lawn as needed during the fall. Set the mower’s blades at the lowest for the last one or two cuts in the season.
4. Aerate the Lawn
It could alleviate soil compaction, remove thatch, and beautify the grass overall.
5. Fertilize the Lawn
The morning dew and cooler temperatures in fall offer the perfect setting to feed your lawn to restore its strength from the summer heat.
6. Rake Over Bald Spots
Fall is also a great time to repair any bare and bald spots on the lawn.
7. Mulch Around the Plants
Mulching around the plants in fall has a lot of benefits, such as preventing soil erosion, suppressing weeds, and other more.
8. Saving Seeds
After harvest, it is a great time to save seeds for next year during the fall garden cleanup.
9. Reconfigure the Garden
If you like more space for flowers next year, autumn is a great time to reconfigure the garden and build more raised beds.
10. Prepare the Soil
Fall is also the time to put nutrients into the soil to get your flower beds and raised beds ready for the next year.
11. Plant and Divide Perennials
Autumn is also a great time to plant and divide perennials; early fall is the best time to do it, especially in the cold areas.
12. Plant bulbs, shrubs, and Tree
For some plants, fall is the best time to plant. Fall annuals are great to make some color to your yard when others go to sleep.
13. Dry Out Everything
Remove water from all equipment like fountains, hoses, and drip irrigation systems; then, keep them in dry places.
14. Protect cold-sensitive plants
You could add mulch to the plants’ base and wrap them in cloth and plastic barriers to prevent the damage from freezing.
15. Maintain the Tools
After being used throughout spring and summer, it is time to clean, sharpen, and repair the tools.