Autumn Garden To-do List
Autumn is a great season, even the chores can be fun!
The winding down of summer makes me grumpy. For starters, the heat can be trying plus I am usually exhausted from all the summer gardening.
What reinvigorates me is the day I step outside, look up, and see overcast skies. Leaves start to change color and drift to the ground. As my excitement grows I finally catch the autumn chill. At this point, I can hardly contain myself.
Most of my favorite memories have taken place in autumn.
Growing up, nothing was better than my family getting together to make apple cider. Carving pumpkins is a favorite timeless pastime of many. But what I always loved the most was digging in the closet for a cozy sweater, grabbing a rake, and making a great big leaf pile to plunge into.
What autumn offers a gardener is time. Not much time, but still enough to reflect upon the year and begin to anticipate the next.
It’s the season when the garden slows down and prepares for its long winters nap — that is, if you live in an area that frosts in the winter. Though things may look dead and lifeless, this is a time of richness for the underground world.
While it feels like an ending, in many ways there are new beginnings. School starts up again, winter sports are teased on television, and the holidays are fast approaching.
I think a quote by Lucius Annaeus Seneca captures this season perfectly:
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
Simple seasonal chores help me to reflect on the gardening season I just had. They also give me time to conjure up a new plan in my mind. But most of all, the chores bring me to the only place I want to be: the present.
Bulb Out, Bulb In
The time to uproot your tender bulbs, rhizomes, corms, and tubers is now! Take out gladiolus, canna lilies, tuberous begonia, dahlia, taro, elephant ear, and any other tender bulbs.
Leave them outside to dry out in a place shielded from the weather. This allows the plant to send the energy from the flowers and foliage back to the bulb.
Then store them in a cool, dry place.
I like to wrap mine loosely in newspaper and put them in cardboard boxes with holes in. This allows for good ventilation and keeps them out of the light so they can make the most of their dormancy period. I make sure that none of the bulbs touch each other just in case one rots- it won’t ruin the bunch.
Harvest Vegetables
Throughout history, harvest time was marked as a period of celebration. The reasons for celebration are the same in many cultures. They range from gratitude for a bountiful harvest to the need to gather together to stave off winter blues. Whatever the reason, it’s a great time to reap what has been sown.
Now is the time to harvest your vegetables. Whether you end up preserving them, eating them immediately, or giving them to friends, family, and neighbors — take a moment to revel in what you (and mother nature) have accomplished. The pride you feel is warranted.
Pick tomatoes, squash, peppers, pumpkins, and gourds once they come to fruition. You can leave root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, turnips, and beets.
If you do leave your root vegetables in the ground beyond the frost, heavily mulch (10–12 inches) to help prevent that area of ground from freezing. To have access to these vegetables all winter, you can also put a bail of hay or straw on top of the ground where they are planted for winter-long access.
Plant and Move Perennials
By this time of the year, I have sworn off buying more plants. But I inevitably find myself wandering through nurseries and greenhouses only to rescue some end-of-the-season perennials.
So, if you’re like me, you’re probably still surreptitiously buying plants this late in the season. If that’s the case, no worries. You can still plant perennials.
Plant on an overcast day or a day when it is not hot out. Heat can cause transplant shock. Try to plant several weeks before the last frost if possible so the roots have time to at least somewhat establish themselves.
You can move plants, too. You can move most perennials at this time of the year or in early spring. You can also divide and replant at this time, though many gardeners wait until spring.
Leave or Collect Seeds
Collecting seeds is one of my favorite tasks. This can be especially fun if you have children in your life. Go around to the plants you want to save seed from. If the plant is dried out, collect its seeds. If the plant is still green but on its way out, cut it off and lay it in the sun to dry. Once dried, collect the seeds.
Label them!
While mystery seeds can be a fun surprise, you may want to consider labeling them. I am notorious for saying to myself, “Oh — I’ll remember! No need to mark them!” And then I end up eating my words come spring.
Of what you don’t collect, leave standing. You may think leaving dead plants is unsightly, but hear me out. In the dreariness of winter, few things are so pleasant to see as a lively bird. Birds need food in winter. Having seed heads standing draws them in and gives them much needed nourishment.
Take in Tender Plants
Got tender perennials or shrubs? This may include bougainvillea, mandevilla, brugmansia, begonia, and abutilon… Though I don’t have to, I bring my ivy inside.
Before bringing the plants indoors, acclimatize them to low light by setting them in the shade for a few days. This helps them to adjust and adapt better to living indoors.
When inside, put the plants in the sunniest part of the room. A south-facing window is ideal. Do not fertilize again until early spring.
Shrub Time!
Autumn is prime-time for shrubs! After Labor Day (U.S.) many nurseries get a new stock of shrubs, so it’s a great time to acquire young, healthy plants.
When you plant the shrubs, be sure to do it on a cooler day to prevent transplant shock. Then water it well so the soil can settle around the roots. Mulch heavily.
Take Care of Trees
As with shrubs, this is a fantastic time to plant trees. Make sure you plant them several weeks before the last frost so the roots can get… well… rooted. Sprinkle on some slow-release fertilizer so that is not overwhelming, but can have some nourishment. Mulch heavily.
If you must, prune your deciduous trees after the leaves have all fallen off. Keep in mind that this will restrict growth. Remove unwanted, diseased, or damaged limbs with a sharp, clean tool.
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
When I first began gardening, I didn’t quite grasp how important mulch was. This was when I would problem shoot basic issues I was having.
How can I cut back on watering?
What can I do to reduce weeds?
How can I fertilize my soil naturally?
The answer to all my questions was simple: mulch.
Now that I mulch, my garden is free of problems. Just kidding. But that being said, mulch does help me out in many ways.
Mulch doesn’t have to be that chipped, dyed wood from the local landscape business. Many things can be used as mulch and many serve different purposes. If a material is biodegradable, it can probably be turned into mulch!
Here are some ideal mulch materials: shredded leaves, chipped cedar, pine needles (very acidic), straw and hay, grass clippings, shredded cardboard and newspaper… the list goes on. In my garden, I use spent plant material as mulch by chopping it up and spreading it on the beds.
So in Autumn, mulch everything at least 4 inches/10 cm if you can. This will allow moisture into the ground, fertilize the soil, and suppress weeds come springtime.
Have a Good Time!
My positivity may come off as excessive, but I really do have a lot of love for this time of the year. I encourage you to have fun outdoors.
Remember, you can always rope in family and friends to help you with tasks in the garden. And if you want alone time, that’s okay, too.
However you go about it, live it up! Nothing lasts forever, especially autumn.
References
Ball, L. (2007). Month-by-month gardening in Pennsylvania: What to do each month to have a beautiful garden all year. Cool Springs Pr.
