Happy fall! I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather. Now that it is not so hot, it is the perfect time to get out into the landscape. Doing a few tasks now ensures that your garden will be in great shape for the winter months and you can rest easier.
Hopefully you’ve been scouting for problems in your gardens but, if not, now is a great time to remove dead or diseased plants from your landscape. By allowing diseased plants to remain, the fungi and bacteria become dormant and overwinter, only to return with full force come warmer temperatures. Then you will have a bigger problem on your hands.
Prune back diseased parts of the plant now, or if the plant is too far gone, remove it completely.
With sunny, dry conditions during the summer, lawn soil becomes compressed causing grass to struggle to get water and air. It is beneficial to aerate your lawn now before the oncoming wet season starts.
Another wonderful technique is to top-dress your lawn with compost which will help with drainage later.
Our landfills are full of yard refuse, so please try to keep anything from the lawn in your yard. Gather all your leaves in your lawn and mow over them. Rake these tiny bits in and they will decay over the winter and provide your soil with more nutrients.
Wanting to decrease the size of your lawn and create new garden beds? The cooler temperatures provide ample time to do so. Remove the sod, or compost it by turning over chunks of soil and allow it to decay.
It is recommended to work in 3 inches of compost to new beds. By feeding your soil, you will feed your new plants. Any weeds that come up should be easily removed by hand. You can sow winter annuals or plant spring blooming perennials and shrubs.
Fall is the perfect time to plant in North Texas because it gives the plants plenty of time to become established before the heat of next summer. It will also save you water and money later.
After all your work is done, it is prime time to clean and sharpen your tools so that they will be ready for the spring. Be sure to disinfect your tools with rubbing alcohol before putting them away. Some tools will only need a quick wipe, but others will need the use of a tool sharpener.
Your lawn mower will also need a tune up, and don’t forget to sharpen those blades! If you observe rust on your tools, use rubbing alcohol and a metal scrubber to remove it. It’s easier to remove rust as soon as you see it. Cleaning your garden tools every October will ensure they last for years to come.
Although fall brings cooler weather and signals the dormancy of plants, there is still a need for tending to sick plants, preparing new beds and tending to your lawn. Preparing tools for a long winter’s rest is important. Spring will soon follow, and your fall preparations will prepare you and your landscape for a new growing season.
Jay Caddel studied horticulture at Texas A&M University, where he took his passion for plants to new heights. After a stint at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Jay has come home to Fort Worth to serve as the Tarrant County extension agent for home horticulture for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. In his free time, he enjoys gardening and talking to everyone about the benefits of native Texas plants.
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