Garden Center at Chicopee #2610

When a crisp day breezes in, take advantage of it to do outdoor maintenance. Bushes and trees need a trim with a chainsaw or pole saw as they're slowing growth for the season. Fallen leaves are likely a concern, so check out leaf blowers, yard waste bags, and rakes. Also, remember to get buckets and a wheelbarrow to contain a bountiful fall harvest. You may even be able to garden throughout fall and into winter. Read on to learn how to transition to your fall lawn and garden.

Fertilize or Patch Your Lawn
Patch bald spots on your lawn by learning how to seed a lawn in the fall. Cooler weather is a great time to fill in dead, brown, or bare places in your yard. However, you should try to keep leaves off freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs sun, water, and air to grow, and leaf litter can block out the sunlight and air it needs to germinate.

If you're in a northern climate, prepare your cool-season grass for the fall with lawn fertilizer. Aerate your lawn before adding fertilizer to get those nutrients down near the roots right away. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any 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.

Get Bulb Plants in the Ground
If you've got your eye on springtime tulips and daffodils, plant them soon. Although their roots look different because they sprout from bulbs and not just below the stem, they still need time to grow downward. Check your plant hardiness zone before planting. In colder climates, some bulb flowers, like freesias, should be planted in spring instead. Find ideas for spring flowering bulbs and plan your tulip, iris, and daffodil displays now. Onions and garlic can go in, too, for a harvest next spring or summer, but they won't need soil additives.

Skip the soil amendments when planting onion or garlic bulbs instead of flower bulbs. Simply plant them now, pointy-side up like a teardrop shape, and you'll have a fresh harvest by next summer. These plants will spread though, so be careful not to let them flower, dry out, and go to seed after they mature. Snip off the dried flowers to avoid planting a patch of volunteer garlic and onion plants.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap and then warm up above freezing again, 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 tarps, buckets, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a greenhouse, and they'll survive a frost. Read other fall-planted perennial tips, too.

This works well when the weather is still transitional, until you're fully into the colder parts of the season. Uncover the plants in the morning when it warms up again and let them enjoy that fall sunshine. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, bid a fond farewell to the garden for the winter.

Put the Garden to Bed
When the sun angle changes and your annuals start looking rougher, it's time to 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. After your annuals are done blooming for the year, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the detritus, or dead plant debris. Feel free to let them decompose to enrich the soil unless you had one of two exceptions: if your plants dealt with disease or if you had a snail 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 slugs and snails are often considered pests by gardeners, they're still part of the ecosystem, so relocate them elsewhere on your property if you can. As for the exception of your plants struggling with blight or disease, simply pack up those dead plants in the leaf bag to avoid passing any issues on to next year's crop.

After you've removed the old plants, you've got a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a shovel or renting a rototiller. You want to loosen the earth so the topsoil goes down and the deeper soil comes up. It lets the soil rest and helps nutrients penetrate. 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 need to add certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Indoor Gardening
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 rotate them regularly to give all the leaves equal sunlight for photosynthesis, and make sure they get enough water. Be sure to add dishes beneath the pots to catch any extra water if they don't have built-in overflow dishes.

Warm the Outdoors with an Outdoor Fireplace
Stretch out your fall evenings with a fire pit, patio heater, or outdoor fireplace 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 pick the one that matches your decor style.

We've got fire bowls and fire pit tables ready to warm your outdoor space. Check out stylish propane fire pits and natural gas fire pits in a variety of shapes. We've also got woodburning fire pits and the firewood to stoke them. You can even build your own with fire pit kits or make it completely custom and learn how to build an in-ground fire pit to your exact specifications. Find more fire pit ideas or stop by your closest garden center to see what's in stock.

Ease Into Autumn
This fall, tidy up your lawn with us. We've got everything you need for leaf cleanup, putting the garden to bed, and replenishing nutrients in your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of outdoor living products and fall garden care in our mobile app, online, or in the aisles of your local store.