Extension Spotlight

What practical garden tasks need to be done in fall? Well, here is one that does not have to be done: raking leaves. Use your mower to break up the leaves and feed the soil and give nutrients to the grass.

If you like a nice green spring lawn, then do a fall winter fertilization for the grass to feed the roots and develop a healthy root system. In the spring, the lawn will green up sooner. Continue to water your lawn especially as this has been a dry fall.

Watering your trees before the ground freezes will help them start the winter season hydrated. Planting any trees or shrubs a month before the ground freezes is acceptable. But plan on maintaining a watering schedule through the winter. Here is a link to a CSU Fact Sheet 7.211 on Fall and Winter Watering: https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/07211.pdf.

What about your perennial beds for fall upkeep? Place a good layer of mulch on the perennial beds and give them a good watering. It is not necessary to cut back dead stalks in your perennial beds until spring. The birds can use the seeds and fruits for food throughout the winter. The stalks can also provide cover for a lot of pollinators over winter. So, as we say now, “Go natural!”

As you are driving around enjoying watching the leaves change color and see the evergreens shedding lots of brown needles, this is a natural occurrence. This is called seasonal needle drop. Pines tend to do this every two to three years. Spruce tends to do this every three to five years. In cedars it is normal for branchlets to turn brown and stay on for a while before falling off.

Clean up the vegetable garden of any plant debris. Then feed the soil with a finished compost which can remain on the surface of the soil or be worked into the soil. It is recommended to get a soil test before adding any nutrients. By doing this now, that makes a gardener one step ahead in the spring and the nutrients can start breaking down especially if a gardener tills them into the soil now.

Lastly, plant any fall bulbs that bloom in spring if you are in zones four and five before the end of October/early November. Happy planting!