Garden Center at Mayaguez #6407

Fall is a different time for your yard and garden, so get out your work gloves. The focus shifts from growing to harvesting, from upkeep to cleanup. We've got fall yard prep and fall lawn tips to help you make the most of your landscaping and garden as the season ends. We'll also guide you through fall harvest and planting. Depending on your climate, you might be able to garden throughout the chillier months, too, if you'd like. Read on for more on fall lawn and garden maintenance.

Fertilize or Patch Your Lawn
Patch up bald spots on your lawn by learning how to seed a lawn in the fall. Autumn 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 fertilizing to get the most bang for your buck. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any weeds that show up. It'll need different maintenance than warm-season grass, which goes dormant as the weather cools. Taper down watering on warm-season lawns.

Fall Gardening
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 a florist or annual mum, you'll need to replant next year.

Succulents and bushes put on a show of flowers in the fall, especially if they're kept in pots or strongly rooted in the ground. Succulent planters allow for easier upkeep of sensitive succulents. Customize the soil in the planters 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 cold and frost sets in.

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 frost and freeze damage to extend their season. You can get extra life out of your garden by covering your plants with tarps, 5-gallon buckets, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a blanket or 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 autumn sunshine. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, bid a fond farewell 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 may be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November. After your vegetables and annuals are done for the year, dig them up 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 slug problem.

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 bring the deeper soil to the surface, send the topsoil lower down, and generally break up the ground. 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 restore certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Delicate 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 rotate them regularly to give all the leaves equal sunlight, and make sure they get enough water. 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 Patio Heater
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 for outdoor heaters for decks, small patios, or cozy porches, we've got options. All you have to do is find the one that matches your decor style.

When you're curious about how to choose or build an outdoor fireplace, we have the supplies you need. Bricks, mortar, a wheelbarrow, trowels, and more — let us help you get this fall project from doing to done. If you'd love some extra heat but rather not install a fire pit or fireplace, we also have patio heaters, including gas, propane, and electric models.

Ease Into Autumn
This fall, shore up your lawn for the season with us. We have the tools and supplies 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 fall garden care and outdoor living products in your local store, online, or in our mobile app.