Garden Prepping for Autumn

Spring is the time of the year when we see flowers bloom all over, and the grass begins to sprout again. During summer, we get to enjoy eating the fruits of the season and see crops grow. Afterward, the weather's getting colder each day, which is the perfect time to prepare your garden as autumn approaches. Below are some of the things to consider:

Check your garden first.

Take a walk around your garden and observe your surroundings. Are there weeds all over the place? Have you put enough fertilizer on the soil last time? Are there any new plants growing there? Are there any damages? These are some of the pointers you have to check out. If your plants have grown into large clusters, this is the best time to divide them and plant each new bunch on different parts of your garden.

Mow your lawn.

Start by cutting the grass on your lawn using a lawnmower. Afterward, rake the cut grass and place them in a compost pit.

Collect fallen autumn leaves.

Once autumn starts, leaves on the trees begin to fall off more often. Many people would be raking these leaves into a garbage bag and throw them into the trash bin. There are better ways to make use of them:

Turn the leaves into mulch. Using a rake to collect fallen leaves takes a long time; to speed things up, make use of aleaf blower. It doesn't cost that much as you can find the best leaf blower under 100. Once you have collected these leaves, place a fence or any enclosure around the heaping pile. Let the leaves dry out and shred them. You could use these shredded dried leaves for flower beds or put them around shrubs and trees. The "mulch" works as ground cover to keep moisture on the ground. Mulch is also great if you have a newly planted seed on the ground, so it is a great idea to keep these shredded dried leaves on a container for spring!

Turn the shredded dried leaves into leaf mold. Sometimes the dry mulch you collected from the shredded leaves would accidentally collect moisture and decompose as the months go. That's perfectly okay because you could still make use of it as leaf mold. It looks almost the same as compost; the only difference is that leaf molds are composed of pure leaves. You could use them side by side with compost, as well. If you let it decompose for another six months, the consistency will resemble that of soil. It will make a great soil conditioner where you can use it for your garden beds.

Give your hedges a makeover.

If your garden has hedges, this is the perfect time of the year to give a trim! Mulching can also help your hedges fend-off weeds once springtime comes. Mulching serves as a cover on the ground, which prevents other plants such as weeds from growing under the hedges.

Put fertilizer around trees and shrubs in your garden.

During autumn, trees that shed-off their leaves are storing energy for the spring. They would be inactive all over winter, and they will be making use of their stored energy when spring comes. Putting fertilizer all over their roots during fall would be great for them! Make use of pelletized slow-release fertilizer or liquid fertilizer around their root system. For big trees, soak the ground around their root system in water for an hour. After that, apply the fertilizer evenly.

Replace old plants with new ones.

Your garden must be laden with old potato plants, beans, peppers, and sunflowers. Some must have had wilted or have grown out of proportion. Time to pull them out and put in plants that suit the season: flowering bulbs! Don't forget to collect seeds from the old plants, if there are any!

Never forget to empty your rainwater barrels in the garden.

If you are utilizing rainwater for your garden during spring and summer, it's best to empty them before the first frost comes down. Clean it up and make sure there is no excess water in the pipes and tubes.

Put your herbs indoors.

Growing herbs in gardens are great, especially if you love to eat fresh food every day. Herbs such as basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, mint, parsley, sage are great for seasoning dishes! If these herbs are still on the ground, it would be great to transfer them to pots and place them indoors. That way, even during wintertime, you can still enjoy fresh herbs as you cook. Doing all of these during autumn will ensure you of a great garden come springtime. Of all the chores above, never forget to take care of the soil. It will make sure that any crop planted in your garden will grow bigger and more abundant! Get a headstart, and start prepping your garden now.