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What’s happening in your garden as plants are done flowering or fruiting, or as summer shifts to fall? Whether you’re calling it quits for the year or aiming to squeeze in one last growing cycle, there’s plenty of work to do in garden beds, especially those growing seasonal vegetables, herbs, and flowers. No matter what time of year your growing season ends, as your plants start winding down, it’s time for you to get moving on these end-of-season tasks.
1. Know your growing seasons.
Several factors affect a plant’s growing season, which is the time of year when a plant can be grown successfully. First is the USDA Hardiness Zone and the specific climate for your area. Hardiness zones are based on average low temperatures, or cold hardiness, an important consideration for nearly every plant. But other climate factors come into play, such as altitude, average number of hours the sun shines each day, and heat.
For example, growing times in the cold northern plains vary from those in cool mountains, even though they may be in the same hardiness zone. In low deserts like Phoenix, Arizona, gardeners grow vegetables in spring and fall because summers are too hot. Gardeners in tropical regions can grow nearly year-round, depending on rainy seasons.
A second consideration is the plant you want to grow. Most crops and flowering perennials require planting after the last frost or well before the first frost of the year. Those that can withstand some frost can stay in the ground a bit longer, and you won’t need to pull them up as part of closing down your garden.
2. Harvest and preserve all you can.
Pick the remaining veggies, and turn any surplus into canned goods, dried goods, or preserves, or freeze them for later use. Herbs in your garden will preserve well if dried or frozen in oil—this works for thyme, rosemary, basil, lavender, and more. Many gardeners also save seeds from top-performing plants so they can grow more of them next year.
3. Remove dead plants.
Pull up dead plants from a garden bed as soon as possible. This advice applies to weeds, but also to determinate plant species like strawberries, tomatoes, or beans, and any annual crop that dies back as cold weather arrives. Once plants have finished producing their seasonal flowers or food or appear diseased, it’s time to remove them. As you pull up plants, be sure to get the roots as well.
Leaving spent plants in the garden drains nutrients from the soil without the reward of produce or beautiful flowers. The plants that remain in the garden need those nutrients more than ever since soil nutrients can be nearly depleted by a stocked garden; this helps them to remain healthy as temperatures warm or cool. Weakened plants and their debris can also harbor disease-causing bacteria and fungi over the winter, as well as insect pests.
4. Properly dispose of diseased plant material.
Feel free to add healthy spent plants to the compost bin or pile for future use in your garden beds, but do not compost diseased plants. Dispose of those in the trash instead. Do not bag diseased plant material for green waste collection in your community since the pathogens can spread into any compost or mulch made from the plants.
5. Protect remaining plants.
If you’re trying to get one more round of plants to generate produce late in the season, add lots of compost or nutrient-rich soil to the beds to nourish the autumn plants. Carrots, onions, and other cold-tolerant vegetables can stay in the ground after others fade.
Find a way to cover your remaining plants to protect them as long as possible. Look for a fabric row cover, such as the AgFabric plant cover, which protects plants but lets air and moisture through. Or opt for semitransparent plastic sheeting over hoops, or some other type of cover—just keep an eye on things to be sure the covered plants don’t get overheated during the day. For remaining perennials, mulch around them lightly as you close your garden for the season, and place a cloche or frost blanket over tender plants during occasional freezes.
In hotter regions, protect plants like tomatoes when temperatures start to soar in late spring. Extending the growing season of vegetables and other plants as the weather warms may require shading them during the heat of the day with a material like the Cool Area Sun Shade mesh tarp, which has grommets to help secure the cloth.
6. Practice or plan for succession planting.
Gardeners who practice succession planting in warmer climates might have one or two more growing seasons to go before closing their gardens for the year. Just make sure to sow seeds while the ground is still warm enough for them to sprout and when there’s still enough time for them to mature before cold affects production.
Even if it is too late to sow or start fall garden plants, succession planting is all about planning, so as you close your garden, note which plants fared best and which faded too quickly. Likewise, note when flowers began and stopped blooming so you can plan for some early spring color or late fall-blooming flowers in the coming year.
Armed with these observations and info from local sources, you can extend your next growing season by planning a few succession crops. Consider sowing or transplanting some a little earlier (weather permitting), and then planting a second round before the garden fades so you’ll have an ongoing supply of produce in the coming season.
7. Divide spring- and summer-blooming perennials.
After they’re done blooming, rejuvenate overcrowded perennial plants by dividing them so they can focus energy on generating new roots. Divide spring- and summer-blooming perennials such as black-eyed Susans, garden peonies, and hostas in fall, replanting divisions immediately. Divide and replant overcrowded bulbs or other plants at least 4 to 6 weeks before the ground freezes so the new roots can become established.
8. Move container-grown plants indoors.
The time to move specific plants indoors depends on their variety and the expected nighttime temperatures. For example, most cacti can tolerate temperatures down to only about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, while other container-grown plants can remain outside a little longer. Before moving small container gardens indoors for the cold months, spray them off with water to ensure they are pest-free. If possible, slowly acclimate the plants to indoor temperatures to avoid shocking them.
9. Shut down garden beds and prep them for the next season.
After you have harvested your herbs, fruits, and veggies and have pulled out all dead or diseased plants, you can close up your garden bed for the year. Shallow tilling or gentle turning of the top few inches of soil can help break up clumps and pull up remaining roots while maintaining soil health and preparing for the next season.
Next, mulch the soil to protect it from erosion, deter weed growth, and add a touch of organic matter that will break down during dormant seasons. No mulch? You can cover the beds with cardboard to stifle existing weeds or even plant a cover crop. Cardboard will break down in the soil, and a cover crop can help protect the soil and restore nutrients.
10. Shut down your watering system.
In frost-prone areas, it’s important to winterize your watering system, including hoses, rain barrels, and irrigation systems. This can be as simple as detaching and draining the garden hose or more involved, such as shutting off and draining an in-ground drip or sprinkler system. Check instructions from your installer or the manufacturer for clearing the irrigation system, and take care of the task after the last watering and before the first frost.
As part of your home’s fall maintenance, after detaching the garden hose, insulate outdoor faucets susceptible to freezing. Remember to bring in the rain barrel if you live in a cold climate, as it can freeze and crack in winter if left filled. Even if you live in a temperate climate and can leave your rain barrel out, you should drain and clean it thoroughly between growing seasons.
