Your garden and your plants will thank you for the extra effort.
and other bulbs you planted in the fall. Follow
Mother Nature’s rule when planting and plant in
odd numbers. Groups of five or seven bulbs will
look best.
Save yourself time and effort by preparing your
gardens and beds now. I hate having to get my soil
ready in the spring when all I want to do is to start
planting. Incorporating good soil amendments
such as compost or well-rotted manure in the fall
allows those amendments to start breaking down
in the soil, creating the optimum planting medium.
Work your amendments deeply into the soil. Six
inches deep is best. If you have heavy clay soils these
amendments will help break down the clay so turn
the soil over, add the amendments, and turn again.
Take the time in the fall to clean your pots.
Remove any old plants and wash out the pots.
The last thing you want to do is to carry over any
diseases or fungus issues into the next growing
season. I like to wash them out using my hose and
a scrub brush. Once they are clean I use a very mild
bleach solution and wash them once again. An
eighth of a cup of bleach to a gallon of water will
do the job nicely. Rinse the pots one more time
and you will be ready to start planting first thing in
the spring.
If you haven’t already, this would be an excellent
time to start composting. For more information
from a very good website, check out the City of
Edmonton’s composting website at
bit.ly/2NxFjMh.
Lastly, take the time to clean your tools. Remove
any soil that is stuck to your shovels, trowels, rakes,
etc., and use some of the mild bleach solution on
them. Take the time to sharpen your pruners and
shears as well.
The fall is a great time to do these tasks since the
garden is winding down and you have more time
to do these chores than in the spring when you are
ready to start the fun stuff. Just like being a chef —
it’s all about the prep! ●
Gerald Filipski is a member of the Garden
Writers Association of America. He is the author
of Just Ask Jerry.
news&views AUTUMN 2019 | 27