Garden Center at Catskill #6176

On a fresh fall day, take advantage of the weather 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. 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 up bald spots on your lawn by spreading fresh grass seed. Autumn is a great time to fill in dead, brown, or bare places in your yard. However, be mindful of fallen leaves on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs air, sun, and water 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. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any pesky 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 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 your mums to grow back next year, 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.

Succulents and shrubs 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. 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 but 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, 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 the thermometer goes up again and let them enjoy that autumn sun. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, bid a fond farewell to the garden for the rest of the year.

Put the Garden to Bed
When your annuals start looking rougher, dig up the plants. Northern climates might be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November. After your vegetable plants have yielded a final harvest, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the dead plant debris. Feel free to let them decay to enrich the soil unless you had one of two exceptions: if your plants dealt with blight or if you had a slug problem.

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 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 should add certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Potted Plants Indoors
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing the plants indoors to a sunny window. Indoor gardening allows both outdoor plants to live longer and house 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. Remember to place decorative dishes beneath them if the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes to catch any extra water.

Warm the Outdoors with a Fire Pit
Stretch out your fall evenings with a patio heater, fire pit, 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 pick 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, prepare your plants and flowers for the seasonal change 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 in our mobile app, online, or in the aisles of your local store.