What to do in your garden this fall

As the days grow shorter and the air becomes crisper, fall is the perfect time to give your garden some thoughtful care. Whether you’re prepping for next year’s harvest or preserving what remains of this season’s bounty, there are plenty of ways to keep your garden thriving through the cooler months.

From harvesting herbs and seeds to tending to your soil and plants, the tasks you tackle now will set you up for success come spring. Here are a few essential steps to take this fall to nurture your garden and prepare for the changing season.

1. Harvest and dry your rosemary, sage and thyme leaves. Place herbs, 1/4 cup at a time, in a single layer, between paper towels and microwave for about a minute. Chop coarsely in a blender to eliminate their sharp ends then store in a glass container.
2. Collect leaves for pressing. Lay flat between two sheets of paper towel set in a book and in a few weeks, the leaves will have dried and can be used to craft cards and add decorative touches to Thanksgiving-themed table settings. See more nature crafts here.
3. Cut raspberry canes that bore fruit this year down to ground level. This will promote strong new fruit-bearing canes next year.
4. Save your leaves and scavenge the neighbour’s too. Simply pile them on a corner or bag them and save them till spring. Small leaves from most shrubs should be left in situ; they will break down and feed the soil quite rapidly. Large leaves such as Norway Maple should be chopped; otherwise they can mat and keep air and water from reaching the ground beneath them. Chop them with the lawnmower and put them back on the beds or into the composter.
5. There are so many benefits to saving your own vegetable seeds at the end of each growing season. It’s really easy for you to do at home. All you need is a vegetable plant, bowl, small envelope and marker.
6. Plant garlic and add lots of manure to the surrounding soil.
7. Carrots and parsnips get sweeter as the ground gets cooler, especially after a frost or two. When the temperature drops, cover them with a heavy layer of mulch to keep the ground from thawing.
8. Before frost, harvest green tomatoes and provide them a place to ripen indoors on sunny windowsills.
9. Clean up and dispose of dead, decaying or diseased vegetable crops. Remove weeds too to prevent their seeds from overwintering in the soil and top vegetable beds with a layer of compost, leaves, manure.

Learn more

Already turning your attention indoors for the season? Read about five indoor houseplants that will help you breathe easy. Meanwhile, you can still visit our public gardens at Evergreen Brick and experience their transformative impact, from providing fresh produce in our food gardens to fostering biodiversity in our pollinator gardens.