Garden Center at West Huntsville #803

When a cool day breezes in, take advantage of it to do a second round of planting and outdoor maintenance. Now is a great time to get flower bulbs and fall flowers in the ground. Read on for more on fall planting, fall garden maintenance, 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. Cooler weather is a great time to fill in dead, brown, or bare places in your yard. However, make sure leaves don't fall on 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 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 bang for your buck. 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 spring-blooming bulb plants, 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 iris, tulip, and daffodil displays now. Onions and garlic can go in, too, for next year's harvest, but they won't need soil additives.

Encourage the bulb roots to grow deep by sprinkling bone meal in the surrounding soil before you plant the flowers. Follow the instructions on the package and do not apply more than recommended. If you do add more, you may end up with a tulip plant with one gigantic leaf and no blooms, for example.

There are instances where you can skip the bone meal entirely and use something else. If you've already got very healthy soil that's full of rich nutrients and compost, just plant the flower bulbs. Superphosphate is an option if your dog finds the smell of bone meal delicious. It's also smart to use phosphate if your property has mice, squirrels, or raccoons who may, like your pets, want to dig up the bulbs and bone meal for a tasty snack.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap here and there, but then it'll warm up above freezing, 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 buckets, tarps, 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 early on, until you're fully into the colder parts of the season. Uncover the plants when it warms up again and let them enjoy that fall sun. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, bid a fond farewell to the garden for now.

Put the Garden to Bed
When your annuals start looking rougher, dig up the plants. Northern climates may be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November, while warmer climates might wait until November or December. After your vegetables and annuals are done for the year, 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 blight or if you had a slug problem.

For gardens overrun with slugs and snails or if your plants struggled with disease, put the old plants in a yard waste bag and dispose of them. You don't want to bring the disease or slugs to next year's garden. However, if you have a compost heap, feel free to add the snail-riddled plant parts there.

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 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 ought to replenish 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 house plants to bring joy into your home. Just make sure they get enough water now that they won't benefit from rainfall, and turn them regularly to give all leaves equal sunlight. 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 Patio Heater
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 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 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 Fall
This fall, tidy up your lawn with us. We have the tools and supplies 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 fall garden care and outdoor living products online, in your W Huntsville store, or in our mobile app.