Fall Garden Agenda
General Cleanup
Get a head start on those weeds for next year by weeding the garden as much as you can before the frost comes. Weeds are
easy to pull at the beginning of autumn. Rake up the leaves and other debris from the garden beds and the lawn. Keeping
leaves and debris cleaned up discourages rodents from making a home over winter. Throw the leaves into the compost
unless they are diseased. Cultivate the soil one last time. This will expose larvae and insects to the freezing
temperatures and kill them.
Prepare the Garden Beds
Fall is a great time to prepare garden beds, especially in the vegetable garden. Add any compost from your bin to
your garden and turn the soil over. Compost helps to improve soil structure and adds important nutrients back into
the soil. Another way to do this is to plant fall rye, or fall legume mix.
Slugs
Slugs breed in the fall, so this is a good time to trap them before they can produce more offspring. Try using
beer traps. The slugs are attracted to the yeast in the beer. It is a safe way to keep the slug population under
control.
Annuals and Perennials
Remove dead annuals from your garden and planters. Plant fall bedding plants such as pansies, kale or asters, for
colour in the coming weeks. Deadhead all perennials that have finished blooming and cut back any that have died
down to the ground. Mulch tender perennials with straw, hay or leaves from the garden to protect them from frost
over the winter. Autumn is a good time to plant and divide perennials such as hostas. Prepare the location for
the new divisions with good soil and some bone meal to help with root development.
Bulbs
Tender bulbs such as dahlias, gladiolas and canna lilies may need to be dug up in October and dusted with bulb dust to
prevent disease and stored in a cool, dry place over winter. Fall is a good time to plant spring flowering bulbs such
as tulips, daffodils and crocuses.
Trees and Shrubs
Fall is a great time to plant trees and shrubs! The soil is still warm from the summer and so encourages root growth, but
cool enough that the soil doesn't dry out.
Roses
Deadhead roses one last time in October and give then a light pruning. You can mulch the bases of roses with peat moss
or compost to protect the roots from winter frost.
Happy gardening!
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