Garden chores

Hopefully, autumn will soon be upon us. With that in mind it is time to get out into the garden an get going on autumn chores. Any work you do now will be less you have to do come spring. While there is a lot to be done in the fall, the cooler temps make working outside pleasureable once again.

Now is an excellent time to add compost to your soil. It helps the soil retain moisture and this in turn conserves water. If you have oak trees in your yard, you can rake up the leaves and add them to your compost pile. Don't have a compost pile? Make one. You can be very low tech and just make a pile in the corner of the yard somewhere. Pile you leaves up, wet them down and Mother Nature will quietly work to turn those leaves into compost.

Once your soil is amended with compost you will want to add a layer of mulch to help protect it. This is esepcially beneficially to plants and trees as it helps reduce water loss. Plants transpire water through their leaves and evergreens will continue to lose water this way during the winter. Moisture must then be taken up by the plants' roots. The roots will will continue to absorb moisture when it is available, but when you aren't watering, when the ground is frozen or there is a dry spell, the necessary moisture is not availabe. The plants will continue to transpire water but at this time it draws moisture from living cells. If too much water is give off from this source, the cell dies leaving brown out. Adding compost to the soil and then a layer of mulch, helps retain moisture in the soil enabling the plant to continue to absorb moisture through it's roots and give it off through it's leaves or needles. This will result in healthier, better looking plants and trees come spring.

Of course, you can take that one step further and get a compost bin and compost not only your leaves, but your kitchen scraps as well. You can get fancy composters that spin around, 3 section composters or a basic bin that you toss your thinks into. No matter how you go about it, composting is a good thing to be doing.

Now is a good time to trim up your hardwoods and plant bulbs, bare root roses, shrubs and trees. A little effort now will be rewarded come spring as everything you planted in the fall burts to life in the spring. Plus it will give you peace of mind all through the winter knowing that you prepared your garden for winter and will not be faced with a garden mess come spring.

It is also the perfect time to clean out your rain gutters or add them if you don't already have them. You can set up a rain harvesting system now as well. The more snow and rain you collect over the winter months, the less water you will have to use to irrigate your garden come summer.

Once done with your garden chores, clean off your tools, oil them or have them sharpened if necessary and put them away. It would be a good idea to dig out your snow shovels and put them where they can be easily reached. If you have a snow blower, check it over and make sure it is in good operating condition and that you have gas for it if it is gas powered. Waiting until the snow is falling fast to find your cold weather equipment is never a good idea.

Fall seems to come and go quickly some years and there is much to be done before winter settles over us. As your garden sleeps you can rest easy knowing you prepared it for it's long nap and come spring you will already be one step ahead of the gardening game.