October 25, 2022
True Organic Cool Weather Gardening Checklist
Cool Weather Gardening Checklist
It might feel like Summer is hardly over, but it’s time to get busy with Fall garden tasks! Tomatoes are waning, and so is daylight — but there’s still plenty to do in the garden during the cooler months. It’s time to clear out those annuals, replenish your garden’s soil, and make things tidy. Working on your garden in early Fall will set you up for great success in Spring!
Know your Plant Hardiness Zone
Your own cold-weather gardening tasks, Fall crops, and what you’re harvesting in Fall will depend on your Plant Hardiness Zone — a standard set by the USDA to codify what types of plants do best in certain climates based on average climate temperatures.
Check out the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find your Zone.
Get in gear before the first freeze
You’ll want to get going before the first freeze in your area so the ground is soft enough to work with. As soon as the air starts to chill and several weeks before the first frost approaches, it’s time to retire that Summer garden and prepare for Winter.
Here are some go-to things you can do this season to get a head start on the most abundant Spring garden.
Time to pull up the annuals
Remove spent plants from your garden, making sure to remove the roots, too. You can throw them in the commercial compost bin or toss healthy (pest- and disease-free) plants in your backyard compost.
Got summer bulbs? While most bulbs are perennial, warm-weather bulbs won’t make it through a cold winter. (This depends on your gardening zone.) Remove those tender bulbs from the soil and set them in storage for next year.
Tidy up, weed, and turn soil
Rake your garden to clean up leaves and sticks. Put them in the compost bin or dispose. (But save good roasting sticks for bonfire s’mores!)
Fall is a great time to get very thorough with weeding. It’s tedious but will prepare you with pristine soil in the Spring.
It’s essential to turn soil in Fall if you want to have a healthy growing medium in Spring! Use a shovel to turn that well-worn soil, aerating and breaking up clumps.
Add twice-yearly soil supplements
And while you’re turning that soil, go ahead and add your choice of powerful single-ingredient organic fertilizers!
Biannual plant foods and soil supplements help replenish soil after those big growing seasons when soil can be left lacking in nutrients. Fall is the ideal time to feed soil with an organic fertilizer because nutrients will feed the soil all Winter.
What organic fertilizer should you choose this fall?
- Our granular All-purpose Plant Food is a great choice for already well-rounded soil and gardeners who haven’t tested their soil, or aren’t sure about what particular nutrients are needed in their soil.
- Seabird Guano gives soil slow-release nitrogen and phosphorus. It’s a great all-around plant/soil food for gardeners growing everything from fruits and veggies to flowers and herbs.
- Bone Meal is amazing for soils that have low phosphorus levels (and it supplies some nitrogen, calcium, zinc, and magnesium). Bone Meal is especially helpful if you’re growing lots of flowers or fruiting plants. Get a closer look at Bone Meal here.
- Nitrogen-heavy Blood Meal is your choice if you want to grow heavy feeders next Spring — like corn, spinach, broccoli, and leafy greens. Learn more about Blood Meal and its benefits.
- Prilled Sulfur can help lower soil pH to make nutrients more available to plants next Spring.
- Have a lawn? It’s the perfect time to fertilize the lawn, as well.
Plant cover crop
Nourish your garden’s soil with a cover crop! Cover crops will add organic matter and nutrients to soil and prevent erosion. Try a cover crop like rye or clover — it’s best to use annuals, not perennials, so you don’t get unwanted “volunteers” popping up in your Spring garden.
Enjoy the season of abundance!
Last-of-the-summer harvests and new fall crops can be some of the most delightful harvests: big squashes, full-bloom flowers, apples of all varieties, and perhaps even some final plump tomatoes (depending on your region).
Savor the Fall sun rays as you pick your last veggies, fruits, and flowers. There will be plenty more where that came from next year!
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