Garden Center at San Bernardino #683

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

Fertilize or Patch Your Lawn
Patch up bald spots on your lawn by overseeding them. Cooler weather is a great time to fill in brown, dead, or bare places in your yard. However, be mindful of fallen leaves on freshly seeded areas. Fresh grass seed requires sun, water, and air to grow, and leaf litter can block out the air and sunlight 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 adding fertilizer to get the most value. An edger gives extra polish to the perimeter of your yard. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any pesky fall weeds that might spring up. It'll need different maintenance than warm-season grass, which goes dormant as the weather cools. Slow down watering on warm-season lawns.

Fall Planting
Fall planting is often overlooked, but autumn is the perfect time to get additional flowers in your garden. Chrysanthemums, often simply referred to as "mums," provide a beautiful pop of fall color. Find them in shades of red, pink, yellow, purple, orange, and white. You might also choose some marigolds for red, yellow, and orange blooms that last until the first frost, or possibly even longer if you properly protect them. Remember to explore the wide variety of fall plant and flower options.

Succulents and shrubs also blossom in the fall, especially if they've been established in the ground or kept in flower pots. Succulent planters allow for simpler upkeep of sensitive succulents. You can customize the soil in the planters to fit these desert plants, as they need a sandy succulent soil mixture.

For shrubs, care for the ones you've got or plant new ones, if the weather allows. Get new plants in now, especially if you're in a warmer climate and have time before the cold and frost set in. If you use retaining wall blocks to accent or surround your garden area, give it 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 here and there, but then it'll 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 from your garden by covering your plants with painting drop cloths, tarps, or even 5-gallon buckets. It'll warm your plants like a blanket or greenhouse, and they'll survive a frost.

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 the thermometer goes up again and allow them to enjoy the fall sunshine. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, it's time to say goodbye to the garden for now.

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 cool down 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 produced a final harvest, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the detritus, or dead plant debris. You can let them return their nutrients to the earth, but there are two exceptions: if your plants had disease or if you had a problem with snails.

If your garden is prone to snails, you'll want to let the old plant matter decay elsewhere. Snails and slugs love to scarf down decaying plants. Moving those plants to another location will help prevent your garden from being taken over by these creatures in the spring. Although slugs and snails are often thought of as pests by gardeners, they're still part of the ecosystem, so move them somewhere else on your property if possible. As for the exception of your plants struggling with blight or disease, just 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 your old plants, you have a clean slate. Prep your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a shovel or renting a rototiller. You'll need to bring the deeper soil to the surface, send the topsoil lower down, and generally break up the ground. It helps nutrients penetrate and lets the soil rest. It's also a terrific opportunity to test the soil and see what, if any, soil amendments you need. Different plants and crops use different nutrients. Test your soil to see if it's balanced or if you should add certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Delicate Plants Inside
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing the plants inside to a sunny window. Indoor gardening allows both outdoor plants to live longer and house plants to bring happiness into your home. Just make sure they get enough water now that they won't benefit from rainfall, and rotate them often to give all those leaves equal sunlight for photosynthesis. Don't forget to place decorative dishes under them if the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes to catch any extra water.

Warm Up with a Fire Pit
Stretch out your fall evenings with a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or patio heater to take off the chill. No matter if you're looking to heat a cozy back porch, a small patio, or a spacious deck, we've got options. All you have to do is find the one that matches your style.

We've got fire bowls and fire pit tables ready to warm your outdoor space. Check out stylish propane and natural gas fire pits in various shapes. We've also got wood-burning fire pits and the firewood to stoke them. You can even build your own with fire pit kits or make it completely custom and build an in-ground fire pit to the exact specifications you need with pavers that lead to and surround the pit. Stop by your closest garden center to see what's in stock.

Ease Into Fall
This fall, shore up your lawn and garden for the season with us. We have all that you need for leaf cleanup, putting the garden to bed, and restoring nutrients to your soil so it's ready for the upcoming spring season. Shop our wide variety of outdoor living and fall garden care products online, in your local store, or in our mobile app.