Fall Time to Tend the Yard

Its fall you look out your window survey your yard and sigh in frustration. What do I do with my yard? All these leaves and debris strewn about. Most everyone knows that fall is the time of year where you rake the leaves in yard in to piles and clean up your yard waste, but what do you doo after you gather it all up? I know some towns and cities have yard waste collection days and times but did you know you can utilize the waste for the benefit of garden next year. All of the organic debris and leaves can be composted so it breaks down and then is available to use as mulch in the next growing season. You can also use those leaves you collected after you have had your fun with the kids of jumping in them as a winter flower and garden bed cover. Evenly covering beds with the leaves can provide a layer of winter proctection for your soil and maintain the structure of your beds.The leaves will also decompose over a period time adding organic matter to the soil of your beds which in the long run provides nutrients for the plants you will grow. There is plenty that can be done when fall hits spring and summer are not the only months to be busy in the gardens.

November

• Place protective wrap around trunks of young fruit trees to deter rabbits
• Clean tools and equipment for winter storage
• Spread manure or compost on garden beds
• Pull out dead annuals
• Fertilize the lawn – it will respond well!

December

• Prune only for cosmetic purposes – leave the remainder until late winter
• Apply mulch after the ground freezes
• Feed birds and provide an unfrozen source of water
• Tie together evergreens that are susceptible to breakage by ice or snow