Fall Gardening

For many of us, gardening in the fall means cleaning up, cutting down, raking leaves and generally
tidying up before the frost hits. Keep the following things in mind when getting your garden
ready for winter:

Shrub planting. Fall is a great time to plant trees and shrubs because soil temperatures are still warm compared to the air.

Tulip bulbs. Everyone knows that tulip bulbs bloom in the spring, but if you don’t plant them in the fall, there will be few to see in the spring. So plan ahead.

Check for disease. When cutting back perennials, check for diseases and pests. These are things you don’t want to come back to your garden next year.

Composting.� There’s nothing better for your garden than rich, home-made compost. And fall is full of the best ingredients – leaves. You can make the compost in something as simple as a wire cage. The recipe is simple, too:

• mix leaves, other garden wastes, some kitchen scraps (no grease or animal fats) together;
• keep moist at all times, but not sopping wet;
• turn every couple of weeks, and wait for about six months.

And don’t forget to bring in the house plants, away from the cold.

Category: Lifestyle