7 Things You Can Do Now to Prepare for Fall Gardening

Yes, I know it seems crazy to be thinking about fall gardening while suffering through the hottest part of summer, but bear with me.

If you think there is even the smallest chance that you might do some fall planting, this stuff is important.

1.Weed Control:

Did you let part of your garden go fallow without a cover crop or mulch this year, or are you planning to expand your garden space? Rather than tilling, consider cutting down or mowing the weeds or grass and covering the area with some form of mulch to kill off weeds, grass, or pests in the soil before fall (or spring) planting. You can leave your chosen cover in place until you're ready to plant. Mulching rather than tilling, especially if your area is going through a dry spell, will help to keep what moisture there is in the soil. You can still till before planting if you wish, or, if you're doing a lasagna garden, you'll be able to pull aside the mulch and plant directly into the soil.

2.Review:

If you planted cool weather crops in the spring, look over your gardening notes and assess how they performed. If you planted cool weather crops last fall, look over your notes and assess how those crops performed too. If you planted bulbs last fall, how did they perform in the spring? Are there things that you want to plant more of, or that you missed your opportunity to plant last year? Think about both successes and failures, and what you learned from them. That knowledge can be applied to help you decide if you even want to plant a fall garden.

3.Take Stock:

• If you have garden seeds on hand (and I've honestly never met a gardener who didn't), take time to gather them up and do an inventory.

• If you like to start your own plants indoors, look over your seed starting gear to make sure you have what you need. If you don't, there's time to acquire whatever is missing before you start seeds.

• Look over your available planting space, including raised beds and containers. Figure out what you have to work with before you go crazy starting seeds or shopping for bedding plants.

4.Make a Plan:

• Decide whether you want to plant fall vegetables, and using your average first frost date, calculate when you need to start seeds and plant each crop for a fall harvest. Mark those dates on your garden calendar.

• If you want to plant fruit trees or tulips, now's the time to decide what, where, and how many.

• If you're going to purchase started vegetable plants rather than start from seed, decide what plants, how many, and when you need to get them into the ground.

5.Place Orders:

If you need specific seeds, bulbs or trees that the local garden centers don't carry, get your order in as soon as possible. Some things sell out quickly.

6.Amend the soil:

If you need to amend your soil before planting, it's usually a good idea to do so well in advance. This way, if your compost isn't quite finished, or you got a little heavy-handed with the lime, there's time make adjustments.

7.Take notes:

As you go about your gardening chores, take notes. If you find pests or signs of disease, write it down. When your first tomato ripens, write it down. When you go through a week of record high temperatures, write it down. If you think of a new vegetable you want to grow next year, write it down. When you tally up your harvest for the year and notice a cultivar that under-performed, write that down too. Everything that you take notes on this year can be used to help you become a better gardener, and have a more successful garden next year.