Fall Lawn and Garden Care

Rake up leaves

Rake up leaves or chop them up with the lawn mower. Many leaves such as maple will damage the lawn or evergreens if they remain on these plants over winter. Maple leaves are large and lie flat once they are damp, suffocating the underneath grass. They also leach toxins as they decay. Oak leaves curl up when they dry so they are used as an insulating material to protect perennials and sensitive shrubs during the winter.

Compost

• Empty the composters. Amend your garden beds with compost and/or topdress the lawn.
• Use the kitchen scrap/perennial compost for the vegetable garden and the vegetable garden compost for the flowerbeds. This will reduce disease transmission.
• Place the composters away from the home but in an accessible place for use during the winter.

Lawns

• Chemical/synthetic fall fertilizers have a higher last number than the spring and summer fertilizers, as Potassium (K) improves winter hardiness and stimulates root growth.
• Water the lawn if needed, 1 inch per week.
• Mow weekly until mid to late October depending on the weather. Do not reduce the mowing height because grass blades that are 3 inches long protect the crown of the grass plant from sudden or severe cold temperatures.
• Fall is a good time to renovate a poor lawn or reseed bare patches.

Perennial Border

• Cut down the plants and compost the healthy material but do not compost the seeds because they may overwinter in the composter.
• Cultivate the soil to disturb the insect eggs and overwintering insects.
• Winter protect the tender plants after the first severe frost with leaves either loose or packed inside a plastic bag, or spread straw (purchased in early fall) over the bed.
• Mound the roses and other tender shrubs with soil.
• Reduce the places for rodents and insects to overwinter in by removing dead leaves and debris.

Vegetable Garden

• Flip the soil as crops are harvested to suffocate the eggs and overwintering insects.
• After all the crops are harvested dig compost and any other soil amenders needed into the soil.
• Design and make the planting beds for next years garden. Remember to leave walking paths for easy planting and harvesting next year. Raised areas made in the fall will let the soil
• drain quickly
• warm up quickly
• and reduce compaction in the spring. The garden can be planted earlier in the year, (starting in April most years) because the soil is prepared.

Evergreen Hedges

• Do not trim an evergreen hedge after mid August because the new growth will not have time to become winter hardy.
• Water 1 inch per week (unless it rains) until the soil freezes.
• Apply anti-desiccant to evergreens that are susceptible to drying out during the warm sunny days or wind in winter.
• Protect evergreens from the NW winter wind by wrapping loosely with a fabric or by creating a barrier stapled to a fence to stop the wind. Leave a "chimney" hole at the top to let air escape when it warms up during the sunny winter days.

Trees

• Wrap protective plastic, paper or fabric around trunks that become sun scorched by winter sunshine, or eaten by rodents.
• Remove the egg cases of pest insects such as Tent caterpillars, from branches.
• Buy Dormant oil, lime sulfur (they come in one box) to apply to trees and shrubs in late February or March as a means of controlling insect and disease problems.

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