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When you're ready to seed your lawn, our calculator helps you estimate the amount of grass seed you'll need to get the job done.
Enter your preferred material, the square footage and mulch depth of the coverage space for accurate results.
We'll calculate the amount of fencing you should purchase based on your property needs.
Will my veggies survive a frost?
Some sturdy plants keep growing when they're mature by first frost. Cole crops, including the cruciferous family of kale, broccoli, and cabbage, thrive in cooler temperatures and may continue growing into the winter months. Get incredible depth to their taste by harvesting these veggies after frost. The plants convert starches into sugar, so they'll taste sweeter than earlier harvests. Root veggies, like beets, also love cooler temperatures.
What can I do with the extra wood after tree removal or tree trimming?
Wood splitters leave you with more manageable chunks of wood, while wood chippers make tiny wood chips. After pruning bushes and trees with a gas chainsaw or hedge trimmers, clean up the debris in a wood chipper. If your trees are healthy, the chopped wood and bark chips make mulch that you can spread in your fall garden. If you removed a tree, you can either get an axe or a log splitter to divide the wood into smaller pieces. The wood splitter will be quicker and a wise investment if you're doing a large amount of tree cleanup, and the bigger the splitter, the better.
Is it better to use a leaf blower or rake on fall leaves?
Whether you need the power of a gas leaf blower or the comparatively quieter electric leaf blower, we've got both. Using a leaf blower can help you control the leaves with less physical effort. Electric versions come as cordless or corded leaf blowers. We've also got handheld, walk-behind, and backpack leaf blower models. Leaf vacuums, vacuum-mulcher combo units, or rakes are additional options. Turn the fallen leaves into mulch and enrich your soil or fill up leaf bags and take them out to the curb.
How do I store a string trimmer?
To maintain outdoor power equipment, clean it before you store it. Check your owner's manual or the manufacturer's website for info on caring for a specific tool. For battery-powered tools, store the batteries in a place that won't freeze, as they don't do well with extreme temperatures. Idle gas tools until they sputter dry and then change the oil. It's a bit labor-intensive now, but you'll be glad you maintained your tools when you use them again.
How do I winterize the pool?
Winterize your pool before the weather cools off too much. Clean and vacuum the pool with a special pool vacuum, then drain the water. Use a swimming pool cover to help prevent the pipes or even the pool wall itself from becoming weakened or cracked if water freezes and expands inside. While you're at it, drain and cover outdoor faucets and sprinkler systems, too.
Do I get a snow blower or snow shovel?
In climates where it gets cold and snowy, early fall is the time to prepare your snow removal tools. Snow blowers are great, but keep a snow shovel and ice scraper to clean trouble spots or chip away ice patches. Find one-, two-, and three-stage snow blowers in electric and gas options. People with larger driveways may consider using a spreader to fling the ice melt or salt to clear the way to the car or mailbox. Shop now before the weather cools more and the snow rolls in.
When a cool day breezes in, hinting at the seasonal change, take advantage of it to do outdoor maintenance and a second round of planting. Now is a great time to get flower bulbs and fall flowers in the ground. Neaten up your trees and bushes, too, with chainsaws, pole saws, and pruners. Read on for more on fall garden maintenance, fall planting, and how to transition to your fall lawn and garden.
Patch or Fertilize Your Lawn
Patch bald spots on your lawn by spreading fresh grass seed. Autumn is a great time to fill in dead or brown places in your yard. However, be mindful of fallen leaves on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs water, air, and sun to grow, and leaf litter can block out the sunlight and air it needs to germinate.
If your lawn is in good shape, make sure it stays that way by applying lawn fertilizer if you have cool-season grass. Aerate your lawn before fertilizing to get the most bang for your buck. An edger gives extra polish to the perimeter of your yard. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any pesky weeds that show up. Warm-season varieties, like those in the southern states, are winding down their growth for the year. It's better not to fertilize it now, as you don't want fresh grass growing right before it goes dormant. Taper down watering on warm-season lawns.
Fall Planting
Many colorful fall flowers are annuals, like marigolds, so they last until the end of the year. Hardier plants, like pansies and chrysanthemums, should return in the spring. Always check the plant tag for info. If you want perennial mums, the label should call them chrysanthemum morifolium, garden mums, or hardy mums. If it says they're an annual or florist mum, you'll have flowers this year only.
Bushes and succulents often flower in the fall, especially if they're already established in the ground or kept in flower pots. Succulent planters allow for easier upkeep of sensitive succulents. You can customize the soil to fit these desert plants, as they need a sandy succulent soil mixture.
For shrubs, look after the ones you've got or plant new ones, weather permitting. Get in new plants now, especially if you're in a warmer climate and have time before the frost and cold comes. If you use retaining wall blocks to accent or surround your garden, try giving a finished look with rubber mulch. It'll overwinter just fine and look new longer than bark chips or other mulches that fade with weathering.
Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap but then warm up above freezing, cover your plants. Protect your garden from freeze and frost damage to extend their season. You can get extra life out of your garden by covering your plants with 5-gallon buckets, tarps, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a blanket or greenhouse, and they'll survive a frost.
This works well early on, until you're fully into the colder parts of the season. Uncover the plants when the thermometer goes up again and let them enjoy that autumn sun. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, say goodbye to the garden for now.
Put the Garden to Bed
When the sun angle changes and your annuals start looking rougher, dig up the plants. Northern climates that get cold earlier in the fall might be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November, while warmer climates might wait until November or December. After your vegetable plants have given their final harvest, dig them up and dispose of the dead plant debris. You can let them return their nutrients to the earth, but there are two exceptions: if your plants dealt with disease or if you had a slug problem.
If your garden is prone to slugs, you'll want to let the old plant matter decay elsewhere. Snails and slugs dine on decaying plants. Moving those plants to another location will help prevent your garden from being overrun by these creatures in the spring. Although snails and slugs are often considered pests by gardeners, they're still part of the ecosystem, so relocate them elsewhere on your property if possible. As for the exception of your plants struggling with blight or disease, simply pack up those dead plants in the leaf and lawn bag to avoid passing any issues on to next year's crop.
After you've removed the old plants, you have a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a rototiller or shovel. You want to send the topsoil down, bring up the deeper soil, and loosen the earth. It helps nutrients penetrate and lets the soil rest. It's also an excellent opportunity to test the soil and see what, if any, soil amendments you need. Different crops and plants use different nutrients. Test your soil to see if it's balanced or if you should restore certain nutrients that have been depleted.
Bring Potted Plants Indoors
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing delicate plants indoors to a sunny window. Indoor gardening allows both outdoor plants to live longer and indoor plants to bring joy into your home. Just turn them regularly to give all leaves equal sunlight for photosynthesis, and make sure they get enough water now that they won't benefit from rainfall. If the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes, be sure to add shallow bowls beneath them to catch any extra water.
Warm the Outdoors with a Fire Pit
Stretch out your fall evenings with a patio heater, outdoor fireplace, or fire pit to take off the chill. No matter if you're looking to heat a small patio, a cozy back porch, or a spacious deck, we've got options. All you have to do is discover the one that matches your decor style.
When you're curious about how to build an outdoor fireplace or fire pit, we have the supplies you need. We carry brick pavers, mortar, a wheelbarrow, trowels, and more. Let us help you get this fall project done. If you'd love some extra heat but would rather not install a gas fire pit or fireplace, we also have patio heaters, including gas, propane, and electric models.
Ease Into Autumn
This fall, shore up your lawn and garden for the season with us. We've got everything you need for leaf cleanup, putting the garden to bed, and restoring nutrients to your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of outdoor living products in your Spanaway store, online, or in our mobile app.
7050 Tacoma Mall Blvd
Tacoma, WA 98409
5.23 mi
Mon-Wed: 6:00am - 9:00pm
Thu: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Fri: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Sat: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Sun: 7:00am - 8:00pm
303 35th Ave Se
Puyallup, WA 98374
7.17 mi
Mon-Sat: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Sun: 7:00am - 8:00pm
4602 Center Street
Tacoma, WA 98409
8.37 mi
Mon-Wed: 6:00am - 9:00pm
Thu: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Fri: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Sat: 6:00am - 10:00pm
Sun: 7:00am - 8:00pm