We tend to think of fall as the time when the garden settles down and spring as the beginning of work. But there are some chores that will make your spring work a lot easier if you complete them now.
First of all, pull weeds Once the roots are established in the fall, they are much less likely to re-emerge once the weather warms up again. I’m pretty much addicted to a long-handled tool called Grampa’s Weeder that makes this task easier.
Meanwhile, thoroughly rake the bed and borders. Fungal, black spot, or mold diseases It appeared this year. This will help prevent pathogens from settling in the soil and infecting next year’s plants. Throw leaves and debris in the trash.
Other disease prevention measures include removing shriveled and “mummified” fruit from tree branches, and disinfecting tomato cages and plant supports before storage (using a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, or spraying with a household disinfectant spray and letting air dry).
Clean, sharpen, and oil your tools now so they’re ready to go. There’s nothing worse than going out to plant new seedlings only to find that your spade has rusted over the winter.
protect trees and property
If you planted new fruit trees this year, security guards surrounding them To prevent damage from rats and rabbits. I love coiled plastic trunk wraps, but mesh, wire, and high-grade metal tree surrounds are also very effective.
To be on the safe side, inspect your tree branches now and remove any that are cracked, dead, or broken to prevent winter storms from breaking them and threatening people or property.
prepare a new bed
If you’re planning on installing a new bed next year, save yourself the painstaking work. dig up the lawn (or the money you spent on renting a lawn mower) by smothering the grass during the winter.
Defining the bed of the future, Cover the area with a large piece of cardboard Or, use thick layers of newspaper and secure with landscape staples or stones. Then cover with a few inches of mulch or compost.
The cardboard may fully decompose by spring, but if not, leave it alone and dig the planting hole.
clean up old bed
Remove the used vegetable beds, turn the soil over slightly, compostwell-rotted manure, and if indicated at low levels. pH test resultslime. By spring, the amendment has penetrated deep into the soil, enriching the root zone and providing natural nutrition for next year’s crops.
Also great as an early spring gift for yourself. flower bulbs (and Garlic! ) into the ground. The longer you wait, the greater the risk of delayed flowering, but you can continue planting as long as the soil is soft enough to dig into.
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Jessica Damiano writes a weekly gardening column for The Associated Press and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here Get weekly gardening tips and advice.
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For more AP Gardening stories, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.
