Every fall there comes a day when the garden stops looking like a garden and starts looking like a mess. The tomato vines are black, the bean stalks have gone brown, and the weeds went to seed while you were busy. It is tempting to pull the worst of it and walk away. I have done that, and the next spring I paid for it with disease, slugs and tired, packed soil.
A few hours of work now saves many more hours in spring. This guide covers what to pull, what to leave, how to feed and cover the soil, and how to look after your tools, in the same order I follow myself. Work on dry days and take your time.
Clear the Beds, but Sort as You Go
Do not rake everything into one pile. Sort it into three groups, because each group goes to a different place.
- Healthy plants and weeds without seed heads go into the compost pile.
- Anything with disease, such as tomato or potato vines with blight, squash leaves covered in powdery mildew, or leaves with dark spots, goes into a bag and then into the trash. Most home compost piles do not get hot enough to kill these problems.
- Weeds that have already set seed also go into the trash. A cool pile keeps the seeds alive, and they come back in your beds.
Pull most annual plants by the root, with one useful exception. Beans and peas grow small nodules on their roots, which are homes for bacteria that capture nitrogen from the air. Cut these plants at soil level and leave the roots to rot in the bed, so some of that nitrogen stays in the soil.
Pick up fallen fruit and vegetables as well. Squash bugs, slugs and fungus spores like to spend the winter in plant debris, and a clean surface gives them fewer places to hide. I do leave one small corner a little untidy, with a few hollow stems, because helpful insects such as ladybugs often spend the winter there.
Pull your stakes, cages and trellises at the same time. Scrub off the soil with a stiff brush and soapy water, let them dry fully, and store them under cover.
Feed the Soil and Never Leave It Bare
Bare soil has a hard winter. Rain packs it down, wind dries it, and freezing and thawing wash nutrients away. The goal is simple: by the time snow comes, every bed should be covered by something.
Add Compost
Spread one to two inches of finished compost over each bed. You do not need to dig it in, because earthworms and the weather will carry it down over the winter. If you have never tested your soil, fall is a good time to send a sample to your county extension office. Any lime or other amendment the test recommends can then work slowly over winter.
Sow a Cover Crop or Add Mulch
A cover crop is a plant grown only to protect and feed the soil, then cut down or turned under later. Winter rye is very hardy and can be sown late in fall. Oats are easy for a beginner, because winter cold kills them and leaves a mat that is simple to turn over in spring. Sow oats several weeks before your first hard freeze so they have time to grow, and read the seed packet for the dates that fit your area.
If it is too late for seed, mulch instead. Shredded leaves three to four inches deep work well, and so does clean straw. Run fallen leaves over with a lawn mower first, because whole leaves can mat together and block air. Keep mulch a few inches away from the crowns of perennials such as rhubarb and asparagus, so they do not rot and mice do not nest against them.
Plant What Belongs in Fall
Fall is not only for finishing. Garlic is planted now, and it is one of the best rewards for tidy work. Set each clove pointed end up, about two inches deep and four to six inches apart, a few weeks before the ground freezes. Here in Vermont that usually means early October, but check your own dates. Cover the bed with four inches of straw.
Ripe seed is also waiting in your garden. If you want to keep seed from your best plants, collect it before you clear the bed. I explain the whole method in saving seeds from beans, peas and tomatoes.
Now is also the time to write notes while you remember. Which crops finished late, which bed stayed wet, which plant you will not grow again? If frost caught your crops before they were ready, the list in vegetables that beat a short growing season can help you choose faster ones next year.
Put Tools and Water Away
This part is quick, and it prevents expensive damage.
- Disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets, drain them and coil them indoors. A hose left attached can trap water in the faucet, which freezes and may crack the pipe.
- Clean your tools. Brush off the soil, wash with soapy water, dry completely and wipe the metal with a thin coat of cooking oil or machine oil to prevent rust.
- Empty clay and ceramic pots and turn them upside down. Water left inside freezes and cracks them.
- Drain and rinse any sprayer, and store fertilizer in a sealed container in a dry place away from children and pets.
- Sharpen your hoe and pruners now, so they are ready in spring.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not dig or till wet soil. Clay soil worked while wet dries into hard clumps, and repeated digging harms the soil structure that worms and roots have built.
- Do not compost diseased plants in a cool pile. Throw them away instead.
- Do not add strong nitrogen fertilizer in fall. Plants are no longer growing, so the rain washes most of it away.
- Do not pull healthy kale, carrots or leeks that are still growing. Many of them keep well in the ground and taste better after a light frost.
Quick-Fire FAQ
When should I start putting the garden to bed?
Begin when each crop finishes, not all at once. Tender plants such as tomatoes, beans and squash are done after the first hard frost, so clear those first. Leave hardy crops until you have harvested them.
Do I need to till the garden in fall?
No. Tilling is not necessary, and it is harmful on wet soil. Spread compost on top and cover the bed, and the soil will improve itself over winter.
Can I leave tomato plants in the garden over winter?
I would not. Dead vines can carry disease into the next season. Pull them, bag them and throw them away rather than composting them.
Is it all right to leave leaves on the beds?
Yes, if they are shredded and no more than three or four inches deep. Whole leaves can pack into a wet mat, so mow them first. Rake back any thick layer in spring so the soil can warm up.
— Grandma Gigi
