Hermit Thrush on a Winterberry bush in the garden.
by Annie Milionis, Morrisville Bird Town PA Coordinator, Penn State Master Gardener and Master Watershed Steward
Important work takes place in the garden in the fall to prepare for next year’s growing period. The last of the vegetables need to be harvested. The garden beds should be inspected and cut out, and any diseased, dead or dying plant material should be removed.
Many perennials can be divided and replanted in other areas or shared with neighbors. Volunteer seedlings can be moved to new places in the yard or given as gifts. New planting beds can be installed, or existing ones rearranged. Fall is a wonderful time for planting trees, shrubs, perennials, and spring flowering bulbs, including garlic!
It is a great time to test your soil and see what you may need to add to the soil to ensure that the garden is ready for use the following spring. Use a different soil test for each of the different crops, plant types or garden spaces you have in your yard. Use one for your vegetable garden area, one for fruit trees, bushes or vines, and yet another one for different shrubs or flowers, etc.
Soil test kits are available through the Penn State Bucks County Extension Office and cost $10. The Penn State lab will provide a report on your soil pH with recommendations on any fertilizer amendments you may need to make, and let you know if you need to add any organic material. For additional fees you can have your soil tested for other things, such as lead, for example. Once you have your soil test results, you can make decisions about adding any organic fertilizers, pH adjusters, such as lime or sulfur, and the addition of organic material, such as compost or composted manure or other organic material. Doing this in the fall allows these additives to fully incorporate into the soil in time for spring planting so that each plant type you choose to plant and grow can thrive under their best, required, soil conditions.
Don’t blow away or bag up and throw away those fallen leaves; keep them! Leaves can be composted, but the best thing to do is to rake those leaves off your lawn and into garden beds or under trees and shrubs where they act as a natural mulch and provide areas for our native insects, butterfly chrysalis, moth and other pupa to overwinter.
Leaf litter is an important area in which many bird species can forage to find food over the winter months. Many early migrating bird species rely on the leaf litter layer as a source for insects that provide much needed protein and food after a long migratory flight. Over time the leaves will break down and release nutrients and organic material back into the soil.
Leave native perennial stems and flower heads standing until spring. Native plant stems are home to many overwintering butterfly chrysalis, and many native insect species including some of our native bee species. Many native flower heads provide seed food, over the winter, to our bird species. They also provide protection, shelter and foraging areas for our year-round birds during the late fall and winter months.
If you do have turfgrass lawn areas, fall is the time to fertilize. Please consider using an organic fertilizer that is safe for children, pets and wildlife. Read and follow packaging instructions carefully as to the application rate, timing, and appropriate weather conditions. That advice is true of any product one uses in our outdoor spaces to reduce harm to our pollinators, insects, other organisms, children, pets, and our water, soil, and air.
Fall is a good time to design new garden beds and to prepare areas for those new beds. Lawn areas that are being converted to planting beds can be covered with thick tarp or even better thick layers of leaves to kill the grass. In the spring, the leaves can be turned into the soil to add organic matter. Do not throw away those hay bales used in fall decorating; instead use them as mulch in garden beds; use them with leaves in thick layers to kill off turfgrass in the area of newly planned beds; compost them or save them to experiment in hay bale vegetable gardening next spring! They can also be used as an insulation layer around container gardens such as a container bog garden.
Fall is also a time to pause, reflect and linger over the past growing season’s challenges and successes. Inhale deeply, meditate, reenergize; soon the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season will commence, but fall is for reflection and taking things in! It is a time to mark the change of season and take a moment to look at the wonders of the garden and nature around you.
Take in the beauty of the fall foliage; watch as the birds, bees and other creatures enjoy the last of the warmer weather days and the cooler nights. Watch for birds as they migrate south. Observe the squirrels gathering acorns and fluffing up their nests of leaves in preparation for the upcoming winter’s rest. Take a hike in the woods; stop to listen to the peaceful sound of the natural world; stand still and just watch the colorful leaves as they fleetingly float and fall through a ray of sunshine!