9 Fall Garden Chores That Pay Off Big Next Spring

Fall is when a lot of gardeners hang up their gloves. Yet the fall garden chores you do before the first hard freeze matter more than anything you do in spring. Soil has time to rebuild, roots keep growing in still-warm ground, and pests and diseases lose their winter hiding spots.

The good news is that fall cleanup doesn’t mean scrubbing your yard bare. Some of the most useful chores are about leaving the right things in place. Here’s what to tackle now, in roughly the order you’ll want to do it. These tips work whether you garden in Minnesota, Ontario, or Georgia.

1. Test Your Soil

Fall is the best time to send a soil sample to your local cooperative extension office. In Canada, look for a provincial or private soil lab. Labs are also less busy than in spring. Plus, if your results call for lime or sulfur to adjust pH, those amendments need months to work. Applying them now means your soil will be ready by planting season.

Take samples from 6 inches deep in several spots in the same bed, mix them in a clean bucket, and send about 2 cups. Test lawns, vegetable gardens, and ornamental beds separately since they have different needs.

2. Turn Fallen Leaves Into Free Mulch

Fallen leaves are one of the best free soil amendments you’ll ever get. Instead of raking every leaf to the curb, run a mower over thin layers to chop them into small pieces. They’ll break down over winter and feed the soil. If the leaf layer is thick enough to hide the grass, rake it up, shred it, and spread it over garden beds or add it to your compost pile.

Whole, unshredded leaves can mat down into a soggy layer that smothers plants, so chopping is the key step. Oak leaves break down slowly; maple and birch leaves break down quickly.

3. Plant Bulbs, Garlic, Trees, and Shrubs

Cool air and warm soil are an ideal combination for root growth. Aim to finish planting about four to six weeks before your ground typically freezes. In much of the northern U.S. and southern Canada (USDA zones 3 to 5), that means late September through mid-October. In zones 6 and 7, you can usually plant through early November. Farther south, in zones 8 and warmer, fall planting stretches well into December. Not sure of your zone? Check the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map or Natural Resources Canada’s plant hardiness site.

• Spring bulbs: Tulips, daffodils, crocus, alliums, and hyacinths all need a winter chill to bloom. Our guide to planting spring-flowering bulbs covers depth and spacing.
• Garlic: Plant individual cloves now for a harvest next summer. Here’s how to grow garlic from cloves.
• Trees and shrubs: Container-grown and balled-and-burlapped plants establish well in fall. Water them deeply until the ground freezes.

4. Divide Overgrown Perennials

Are your daylilies, hostas, irises, or peonies crowded or blooming less? If so, early fall is a great time to divide them. Dig up the clump, split it into sections with a sharp spade or garden knife, and replant at the same depth. Water well. A good rule of thumb: divide fall bloomers (like asters and mums) in spring, and divide spring and summer bloomers in fall.

5. Be Selective About Cutting Back

The old practice of cutting every perennial to the ground in fall isn’t necessary, and it can hurt wildlife. Hollow stems shelter native bees over winter, and seed heads from coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and ornamental grasses feed birds like goldfinches and juncos. They also add structure to a snowy garden. If you’re planning a pollinator garden, this is one of the easiest ways to support it all year.

That said, you should clean up some plants:

• Anything with disease, such as peonies with botrytis, phlox with powdery mildew, or bee balm with leaf spots.
• Hostas and other plants that turn to mush after frost and can harbor slugs.
• Vegetable garden debris, especially tomato, squash, and potato plants, which can carry over blights and pests.

Bag diseased material rather than composting it, since most home compost piles don’t get hot enough to kill pathogens.

6. Feed and Overseed Cool-Season Lawns

Cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass are common across the northern U.S. and Canada. For these lawns, fall is the most important time to fertilize. Early fall is also the best window for overseeding thin spots, ideally six weeks before the first frost. Warm-season grasses like Bermuda, zoysia, and St. Augustine, common in the South, need little or no fall fertilizer because they’re heading into dormancy.

Keep mowing until the grass stops growing, and drop the mower height slightly for the last cut or two to help prevent snow mold.

7. Keep Watering Until the Ground Freezes

Dry fall weather is hard on newly planted trees and on evergreens like arborvitae, boxwood, and rhododendrons. Evergreens keep losing moisture through their needles and leaves all winter. As a result, if they go into the cold dry, they’re more likely to suffer winter burn. Give them a deep soak every week or so without rain until the soil freezes.

8. Mulch Beds After the Ground Freezes

Winter mulch isn’t really about keeping plants warm. It’s about keeping the soil consistently cold so it doesn’t freeze and thaw repeatedly, which can heave shallow-rooted perennials right out of the ground. Wait until the top inch or two of soil has frozen, then spread 2 to 3 inches of shredded leaves, straw, or wood chips over perennial beds. Keep mulch a few inches away from tree trunks and shrub stems.

9. Clean, Sharpen, and Store Your Tools

Tool care is the last of the fall garden chores, and it saves you money.

Before you put tools away, scrape off dried soil and wipe blades with rubbing alcohol to kill lingering plant disease. Then sharpen pruners, loppers, and shovels with a file. Rub a light coat of oil on metal parts and linseed oil on wooden handles. Drain and coil garden hoses, then store them indoors so they don’t crack. Finally, shut off and drain outdoor faucets if temperatures in your area dip below freezing.

Fall Garden Chores to Skip

• Don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs. Lilacs, forsythia, azaleas, and many hydrangeas have already set next year’s flower buds. Pruning now removes them. Our guide on when to prune hydrangeas explains the timing for each type.
• Don’t fertilize shrubs and perennials late in the season. It can trigger tender new growth that gets damaged by frost.
• Don’t mulch too early. Mulching warm soil can invite rodents to nest in it.

FAQ

When should I start fall garden cleanup?

Start your fall garden chores after the first light frost, when annuals and vegetables have died back. You can spread most of the work over several weekends and save mulching for after the ground freezes.

Is it OK to leave leaves on garden beds?

Yes, especially if you shred them first. A few inches of shredded leaves protects soil, feeds earthworms, and provides habitat for overwintering insects. Avoid thick layers of whole leaves on the lawn, which can smother grass.

How do I find my first frost date?

Ask your local cooperative extension office, or use a frost-date calculator with your ZIP or postal code. Remember it’s an average, so watch the forecast as the date approaches.