5 Ways to Prepare Your Garden for Fall
If you are starting to feel crisp breeze in the air, it’s the right time to start thinking about preparing your garden for fall. There are a couple of things you will have to do if you want your garden to have a smooth transition into fall. Not all of them are too time-consuming and tiring. Not only this, but they might just be a perfect way for you to make the most of the remaining hot days. So without further ado, let’s check the 5 ways you can prepare your garden for cold temperatures and rain.
Harvest and Preserve Your Vegetables
Oddly enough, many gardeners start fading away from harvesting near the end of the summer. No matter how tired you are from working around your garden during the summer, you still have to put some effort into harvesting and preserving the vegetables right before the fall comes. This is the period when you’re supposed to harvest vegetables such as onions, carrots and potatoes. Still, just harvesting them is not enough. You also have to make sure they are properly put away for the winter.
Turn off Your Watering System
No matter if you have an automatic irrigation system or you simply water with a garden hose, the end of summer is the time when you should start thinking about turning off your watering system for the fall and winter. If you live in a warmer climate, simply disconnecting the system from a hose spigot and waiting for the water to drain out might be enough. But if you live in a colder climate, you should definitely think about blasting all the water out with an air compressor.
Add Some Compost
The end of summer is also the perfect time for adding some compost to your garden. Just 1 or 2 inches of compost over your garden will supply it with all the nutrients necessary for the next season. A large number of gardeners also opts to add a layer of some lighter organic material as well. This helps you prevent nutrients from leaching and keep the early spring weeds down. Almost every type of compost can be used during this period as long as you make sure it is free of any weed seeds.
Plant Garlic
Even though garden season has finished, you can still plant garlic before the fall starts. Garlic should be planted 6 to 8 weeks before the frosting which means you should do it right before the fall starts. It’s very important that you don’t do it too early since this can lead to a new shoot emerging before winter starts, exposing the plant to cold and frost damage. Make sure you plant each garlic clove around 3 inches deep and leave around 6 to 8 inches of space between all the cloves.
Clean the Entire Garden
Since you’re not going to use any of your garden tools during the fall and winter, it is always a good idea to clean them and bring them inside until the next garden season starts. Also, if there is anything in your garden that you have no more use for, make sure you throw it away. It’s always a good idea to get a skip bin where you can throw away throw away all the garbage from your garden. If you are looking for skip bins in Penrith, there are local businesses you can turn to.
Make sure you do all of the above mentioned things before the fall starts and you will be assured your garden is ready for the fall. You can then sit back and rest from garden work until the spring starts.