Gary Emmett

I love the fall season, but rather than trying to write my own prose, I prefer the words of the poet Robert Frost, whose words I can often relate too.

“O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow,

Make the day seem to us less brief.”

Taken from “October” by Robert Frost 1913

Fall is definitely all around us. Temperatures have been mild allowing for the beautiful colors to explode in their glory around us, which causes me to get distracted from the tasks at hand. And before I get more distracted here are my top five fall tasks to accomplish before the snow flies.

1. Planting trees, shrubs, flowers and garlic

Yes, there is still time to plant more plants in your yard. If you can dig a hole in the ground you can still plant a tree. However, make sure that it is watered well. As the ambient air cools, the soil temperature still stays warm, allowing for better root development. If you enjoy tulips and daffodil flowers in the spring, they need to be planted now in the fall. And don’t forget to plant your garlic. Plant it now and harvest next June or July.

2. Watering,  fertilizing your lawn one last time

Before the water goes out of the ditches and canals, or you winterize your pump, make a conscious effort to water your lawn one last time. It is also a perfect time to add your last fertilizer step or winterizing fertilizer on your lawn. This will not cause your grass to grow, but the roots will actually go into the winter healthier and it is a sure way to ensure that you have the first green lawn in the spring.

3. Pruning and trimming your trees and bushes

If you have any birch or maple trees, make sure that you do any necessary pruning to them this fall. Depending on the winter, spring sap can start flowing in January. If you prune them now, they won’t “bleed sap” all spring long. Also fall is the best time to do any maintenance pruning on your shrubs and flowers around the yard. Be careful in how well you clean up your flower beds, because there are many beneficial insects that winter over in the fallen leaves of flowers.

4. Cleaning up the garden

It is always better to clean out the old dying vegetable plants in the fall rather than waiting until spring. If you garden in raised beds, like I do, it can be very easy. It also doesn’t allow for old seeds to winter over and surprise you in the spring. I have often been surprised at what pops up on occasion. This is a great time to add organic mulch or fertilizer to your garden beds. And I would highly recommend at least adding soil sulpher in the fall. This will slowly break down over the winter. Increasing the soil fertility come spring.

5. Protecting your roses

I should write a whole article about prepping your roses for the winter. Don’t prune them yet. It is still warm enough that pruning roses now can and will stimulate new growth. Allow the spent rose blooms to naturally fall. Cut back your watering. Roses need a good soaking going into winter, but not too much. Add magnesium sulphate and potash around the stems but not inside the crown. Around Thanksgiving time is the time when you want to put your roses to bed. Prune any wild canes off, prune their height down to about 18 inches. Now is the time you mulch or cover your roses with leaves or dry compost. Cover to a depth of at least a foot. Now you can wait till spring.

Robert Frost’s words make me pause and enjoy what is before me rather than being overwhelmed with what I still need to accomplish. 

The mild temperatures have allowed me to take a slower pace in getting my fall gardening tasks done around my yard. And I keep finding more to do. What is on your fall list to accomplish?

(Gary Emmett and his wife, Brenda, own Successful Gardens Garden Center in Lovell. He has a degree in horticulture and loves to share his knowledge yet loves to learn from others too. You can follow him on his YouTube gardening channel or visit successfulgardens.com where you can sign up for free gardening newsletters.)