While many people view gardening as a simple process of planting seeds, watering, and harvesting, there’s actually a lot more to it. A significant portion of the work involved is planning, soil preparation, and preventative problem-solving. As the growing season comes to a close and your landscape begins to reveal its potential, it’s time to focus on fall gardening projects. These projects go beyond routine maintenance tasks for annual gardens or summer planting for a fall and winter harvest.
Instead, they’re about tackling big, seasonal activities that make spring gardening easier when the ground thaws.
Ground Breaking for New Areas
As the seasons transition from summer to fall, it’s an ideal time to kick-start new garden endeavors. This could involve establishing a thriving vegetable plot, expanding an existing one, or creating an edible perennial landscape that will yield bountiful harvests for years to come.
However, unless you’re fortunate enough to have land that naturally boasts level terrain, loamy soil, and excellent drainage, there are likely several groundwork projects that need attention before you can even think about sowing seeds or transplanting plants.
Leveling or Terracing
A gentle incline in your garden can foster effective drainage, but excessive slopes can lead to soil and nutrients being washed away from the root zone of your plants. To counteract this, you may need to level the area or create terracing systems.
Leveling is a straightforward process that can be achieved with basic tools like shovels, rakes, and carpentry levels for smaller areas.
Larger projects might require specialized equipment such as earthmovers, A-frame levels, or laser levels to ensure precise adjustments.
Terracing, on the other hand, involves building up sections of your landscape using stabilizing elements to prevent soil erosion. This can be accomplished with natural materials like rock embankments, walls, and landscape ties, or man-made features like retaining structures.
For taller terraces exceeding a foot or two in height, it’s crucial to incorporate drainage mechanisms to allow water to flow through the structure. French drain pipes are a popular solution for directing the flow.
Direct Drainage
When designing a garden on a slope or near other level areas, it’s crucial to consider excess water flow. To mitigate this issue, you’ll need to implement drainage measures before planting. This can be achieved by digging shallow ditches above the garden or installing formal drains that direct water towards specific areas. For gardens in regions with abundant rainfall, creating swales around the perimeter can help manage runoff and redirect it away from the garden bed.
On the other hand, dry climates may require irrigation channels that store and channel water deeper into the soil. Additionally, capturing and storing rainwater in ponds for later use can be a valuable strategy.
Soil Percolation Perfecting
Soil percolation is a crucial aspect of gardening, as it affects how well your plants thrive. The ideal scenario is having soil that retains some water for extended periods while also efficiently shedding excess moisture to prevent waterlogged conditions. To achieve this balance, you may need to take steps to enhance soil percolation based on the type of soil you’re working with.
One effective way to improve soil percolation is by incorporating soil amendments like compost and leaf mold.
These natural materials can dramatically increase water absorption rates in your soil. When starting a new garden, applying generous amounts of these amendments and tilling them into the soil will provide the best foundation for your plants.
Alternatively, if you’re dealing with stubbornly hard soil, consider using sheet mulching in the fall followed by light tilling in early spring to achieve beneficial results without exhausting yourself.
For those with the physical stamina and strength, double digging is another viable option. This technique involves removing the top foot of soil, then loosening the layer beneath it using a tiller while incorporating copious amounts of compost and leaf mold into the soil to promote improved drainage.
Perennial Weed Removal
When it comes to tackling weeds in your garden, timing is everything. While annual weeds can be removed as they emerge throughout the growing season, perennial weeds with deep taproots like brambles require a different approach. Prior to planting, take the opportunity to remove these pesky plants by digging them up before they have a chance to establish themselves.
Additionally, if you’re performing soil amendments such as improving percolation or double digging, this is also an ideal time to target perennial weed root systems and remove as much of their infrastructure as possible. By doing so, you’ll set yourself up for a weed-free growing season.
Pest Prevention
When it comes to garden maintenance, one crucial aspect often overlooked is the presence of unwanted visitors – garden pests. These pesky critters can be divided into three main categories: herbivores like deer, rabbits, and voles that munch on plant leaves; insects that overwinter in your yard, ready to feast on your plants come spring; and microorganisms like fungal pathogens, nematodes, and bacteria that can cause harm.
To ensure a healthy growing season, it’s essential to take preventative measures in the fall to deter these pests from wreaking havoc on your garden.
Install Fences
In my experience, every garden can benefit from a well-designed fence. Whether it’s preventing unwanted wildlife visits, keeping the neighbor’s pets at bay or simply containing your own feathered friends, an unfenced garden is often an open invitation for trouble to occur. One of the key benefits of installing a fence in fall is that the reduced vegetation makes it easier to work with the soil, while the cooler temperatures allow for more comfortable working conditions.
Solarize Soil
If severe soil-based plant diseases plagued your previous growing season, solarization might be in order. While I’m not a proponent of this method, which eradicates both beneficial and detrimental organisms alike, it can be a last resort for tackling persistent pests and pathogens. To solarize, cover your soil with plastic on consecutive sunny days to scorch the earth, reaching temperatures above 130°F.
This process takes longer in fall and winter but remains effective as long as temperatures exceed 130°F. By heating the soil to lethal temperatures, you’ll create a barren landscape that eliminates fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and even overwintering insect pests. However, this comes at the cost of sacrificing beneficial soil life. The aftermath requires dedication to revitalize the ecosystem, encouraging beneficial microorganisms to recolonize your soil over several years.
Solarization should be reserved for extreme circumstances only. If you choose to solarize or as an alternative, focus on increasing soil life diversity in subsequent seasons.
Bring in the Good Guys
When nematodes, bacterial pathogens, and fungal infections become out of control, they can be problematic. However, when these microorganisms are part of a balanced ecosystem with diverse populations of microbes, they tend to cause fewer issues. The fall season provides an ideal opportunity to enhance soil diversity by increasing organic matter content through various methods.
This includes incorporating well-aged compost and vermicompost, using mycorrhizal inoculants, covering the soil with wood mulch until spring, and adding biochar. Additionally, trench composting is a simple way to create compost and foster microorganisms during the cold seasons before freezing. It’s also essential to encourage beneficial insects and birds by planning for pollinator plots in your annual vegetable gardens.
Add Infrastructure
As the warmth of summer begins to dissipate, it’s an ideal moment to refine your gardening strategy and introduce innovative designs to your outdoor space. One such approach that has garnered significant attention in recent years is Hugelkultur, a German term translating to ‘mound garden’ or ‘hill garden’. This method involves creating raised beds utilizing decaying logs, branches, and other organic materials.
The resulting ecosystem fosters an environment conducive to healthy plant growth, while also promoting soil biota and carbon sequestration.
Pathways
As I embark on new gardening endeavors, I often repurpose soil from my pathways to revitalize the beds. This process involves transferring the top layer of soil from the walkways to the garden beds, and then replenishing the pathways with a combination of organic materials such as leaves, straw, uncomposted livestock manure, and several inches of mulch. Cooler temperatures make this task more manageable.
Additionally, I enjoy incorporating trellises and decorative details into existing paths during the fall season.
Hugelkulturs, Herb Spirals, and Keyhole Gardens
When incorporating permaculture methods like hugelkultures or building herb spirals and keyhole gardens, autumn proves to be an ideal season. As the forest’s greenery withers away and leaves drop, it becomes simpler to venture into the woods and retrieve fallen trees and leaves as your foundation. The fall landscape also provides a perfect backdrop for installing these natural structures, as the cooler weather makes it easier to work with materials like wood, soil, and plants.
Ponds
When planning to install a pond in your backyard, autumn can be an ideal season for excavation. Not only does the cooler weather make physical labor more manageable, but the increased rainfall common during this period also contributes to the pond’s filling process, especially if you reside in an area with significant precipitation during fall, winter, and spring.
Seating Areas
When preparing to create a new patio or seating area in your garden, fall offers an ideal window of opportunity. This season allows for efficient leveling, flooring installation, and incorporation of hardscape materials without worrying about harsh weather conditions or soil freezing. Be sure to complete these tasks before the ground freezes, ensuring a seamless transition into winter.
Install A Greenhouse
When planning to install a greenhouse, hoop house, or other protected growing structure, fall is an ideal time to take advantage of the favorable weather conditions. By getting it set up before winter arrives, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of winter gardening within your protected space. This hands-on experience will give you valuable insights into the climate range you can create and help inform your planting decisions for when the seasons change.
Plant Perennials
In most regions, fall presents an ideal opportunity to plant perennials, except for areas with abnormally brief growing seasons.
Start An Orchard
When it comes to establishing a thriving orchard on your homestead, autumn presents an ideal opportunity for planting fruit trees. In fact, many climates experience better growth and earlier fruit production when trees are planted during the fall season compared to spring.
Incorporate
An Edible Landscape
When it comes to designing and maintaining edible landscapes, I always begin by incorporating livestock rotation into the process. This approach allows me to harness the natural benefits of animal husbandry, which includes clearing weeds, controlling pest populations, and adding fertility to the soil.
By bringing in ducks, pigs, or chickens, these animals get to work on preparing the land for my perennial edible plants, which I then establish by doing some groundwork and building up the soil’s structure. This holistic approach has been incredibly effective in creating thriving and resilient edible landscapes that require minimal maintenance and upkeep.
Add
Ornamental Plants
While edible plants are undoubtedly a crucial aspect of homesteading, it’s equally important to incorporate ornamental plants into your landscape design. By doing so, you can create a visually stunning and biodiverse environment that not only nourishes the soil but also provides vital habitat for local wildlife.
This harmonious blend of function and beauty can be achieved by selecting plants that not only appeal to your sense of aesthetics but also support the overall health and resilience of your ecosystem.
Plan Ahead
As autumn arrives, it’s an opportune moment to reflect on the past year and strategize for the one ahead. By acknowledging the hurdles you’ve encountered, you can develop a plan of attack to conquer similar obstacles in the future.
Crop
Rotation
When fall rolls around, I take advantage of the opportunity to reassess and adjust my crop rotation schedule while the issues are still fresh in my mind. This allows me to plan ahead for the winter season, ensuring I have time to source the right seeds for a successful spring start. By doing so, I can proactively address specific challenges like nitrogen deficiencies, fungal pathogens, or root-knot nematodes.
For instance, if my corn crop struggled with slow growth and yellowing leaves, I might opt for a legume cover crop incorporating rhizobia inoculant to prepare the soil for future tomato plants. Similarly, if fungal pathogens were present in a particular bed, I’ll note to grow mustard as a winter-spring cover crop, followed by a light tillage and planting of less susceptible crops to break the fungal cycle.
In cases where root-knot nematodes were responsible for poor production, I’ll plan to load that bed with French marigolds before tilling it in at season’s end, while also choosing primary crops that these nematodes tend to dislike.
Order
Specialty Plants
While many gardeners wait for spring to purchase new plants, the reality is that some specialty or hard-to-grow varieties may already be sold out by then. In fact, autumn presents a prime opportunity to order these in-demand items ahead of time, guaranteeing availability when you’re ready to plant.
Irrigation
As the fall season approaches, it’s an ideal opportunity to research and plan a new irrigation system for your garden. With the foliage gone, you have the perfect chance to thoroughly measure your slope, calculate distances, test water pressure, and lay out your line layout without any distractions from lush greenery. This is especially important since your irrigation methods will need to be tailored to the specific plants you’ll be growing.
Factors like emitter placement, flow rate, frequency of application, and more must all be taken into account. By working on both your planting schedule and irrigation plan simultaneously in fall, you can streamline the process and save time.
Conclusion
As the seasons transition from summer’s warmth to autumn’s crispness, many gardeners are eager to refine their green thumb techniques or prepare for a new garden endeavor. Fall provides an ideal opportunity to lay the foundations for a thriving outdoor space, whether you’re looking to elevate your existing gardening skills or embark on a brand-new project.
From leveling land for a fresh start to fine-tuning your technique and tackling crucial tasks, our comprehensive guide covers all the essential fall gardening activities to get you started.
