Gardeners...Fall Cleanup-Prep work

For those that do gardening on their own...

What Fall clean up and prep work do you do during this time of the year, to make your work easier in the Spring?

I have heard that it is a good idea to get weeds under control in the Fall, before they germinate, and that doing so will give you less weeds in the Spring.

What other work do you do in the Fall to make the Spring work easier?

Re: Gardeners...Fall Cleanup-Prep work

Were going to remove all dead plants by either triming down if they are returns for next year or remove if they don't. Put down dandilions killer on grass (had so many this past spring, heard only way to control those is during fall clean up). Going to get spring bulbs put into ground for next year, trim trees, (we removed all shrubbery if you have those would trim them). Put down fall fertilizer to help soil.

Re: Gardeners...Fall Cleanup-Prep work

I'm going to start the turf builder 4 step plan this fall. I have been taken over by crabgrass out of NO WHERE this year...so the guy at the nursery said my best bet was to wait until fall to start.

I also cleaned all my beds today, pulled all my dead flowers out...as well as my dead cucumber plants. My tomatoes are still kickin so I left those.

Pulled out so many onions today I could die. I don't understand where these things come from!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Gardeners...Fall Cleanup-Prep work

Believe it or not, I don't do much. We will continue weeding, put down compost for the plants & lawn, and make sure that the crowns of my plants don't have matted down leaves in them.

Last year, we didn't clean up the leaves properly and I lost some plants because of it. They stay too wet and don't get light and water when the leaves mat down like that.

We're going to hire landscapers for a fall cleanup and then do another pass at the leaves, if there are any, about a month later and put them in the compost piles.

I leave my ornamental grasses and dead branches/flower blossoms because I like how they look in the snow. I cut them down as the temperature rises in spring.

I take all my pots in, even the plastic ones, and store them. I update my diagrams for where my plants are because it's easy to forget over the winter and then wonder if you can start digging in a certain area in spring.

We take in all our little iron fences and plant supports too, because they last longer if they're not out all winter.

I think that covers it. It's a lot of work!

Re: Gardeners...Fall Cleanup-Prep work

i am applying peat, compost manure on the grass and i need to get my aerating shoes out this weekend to start on that. Oh and lime since my ph is still off.

As far as weeds i am got my weeder and i am digging in getting roots out and making sure anything that is going to seed is either removed or killed off by vinegar.

I will be digging up some annuals to see if i can have them survive the winter in a makeshift greenhouse so i don't have to go out and buy flowers at all next year.

By Nov. I take in all the summer pots/decor and put it in the basement, lawn is done, hedges are trimmed, any transplanting is done. I also have a cold garden in the works but it looks like i started it too late so it might not work this year. I am getting some snowpeas in but the cabbage seems to be taking foverever. I will be covering that up with some leaf litter and putting black bags over it during the winter to make a compost.