Fall Gardening Tips

By Sally Handley

August is not too early to begin making a To-Do List of gardening chores for the Fall. Whether you have a small -raised bed, a large vegetable patch, or just a few flower beds, there’s lots you can do to either extend your gardening season or prepare your gardens for next year.

If you love a tidy garden, you may be tempted to deadhead or cut back all your dead or dying

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flowers. Before you do that, you might want to consider leaving a few stalks standing for the birds to feast on, especially your monarda, zinnias and coneflowers. You really don’t need fancy bird feeders to attract hummingbirds, goldfinches and cardinals to your garden. If you didn’t include those flowers in your garden this year you might want to put them on your Spring To-Do list. And, oh yes, do clip a few dead heads and save them in paper envelopes or glass jars for your Spring plantings. My experience, especially with zinnias, is to just spread the dead heads, cover them with a bit of soil and then get out of the way.

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Fall is the best time to start your compost pile. If you’ve been buying compost and you’ve never tried to compost yourself, I highly recommend you give it a try. If you think you don’t have the room, think again. I moved from New Jersey , where I had a big yard, to a condo in South Carolina, where I have only foundation flower beds, and I still compost. I use the Geobin (photo 1), which you can buy on-line. I love this composter because in the Summer, I reduce it to its smallest size and hide it behind a tomato plant. In the Fall after I clean up all the dead plants, I increase the bin to its largest size and include leaves I steal from the piles the landscapers make on their weekly rounds. All Winter I add coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable peels, etc. and I sprinkle some lime on top occasionally to assist in the composting process. Compost is gardener’s gold. You’ll thank me next Spring.

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While Fall signals an end to the growing season, it also is a great time for new beginnings. September and October are the perfect time to get a few crocuses, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths into your flower beds. I always regard planting bulbs as an act of faith. But again, I promise you, you’ll thank me next Spring.

But you don’t need to wait until then. Now is also the perfect time to start some of those cold-weather-loving plants like lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli. You can start them indoors now and put into the ground you clear next month for a lovely Thanksgiving harvest.

If you don’t feel up to Fall planting, you can instead start planning next year’s garden. Assess what worked and didn’t work this year and make some notes. And if you think you have to keep your flower beds and vegetable gardens separate, think again. Above you see my garden bed where marigolds are great companion plants that will keep the aphids away from your tomato plants (Photo 2). Dahlias and black-eyed Susans grow quite happily below a Butternut Squash Vine that has taken over my trellises (Photo 3)

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I’ll be enjoying the squash all Winter, long after the flowers are gone. And some vegetables produce beautiful flowers, too. See those yellow flowers (Photo 4)? Those are the flowers of my okra plants!

My gardening sleuths, Holly and Ivy Donnelly, and I wish you a awesome Autumn and a bountiful Spring!


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About the Author

President of the Upstate South Carolina Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Sally Handley is author of the Holly and Ivy cozy mystery series. Sally’s sleuths are middle-aged, sisters who love to garden. A resident of Mauldin, SC, Sally devotes her time to writing cozy mysteries and gardening and also writes a blog “On Writing, Reading and Retirement” at www.sallyhandley.com.