Fall Garden & Landscape Checklist

Get Your Garden Cleanup On With Our Fall Checklist

Layering up with warm sweaters, soft scarves, and jewel-toned fall decor are great ways to set yourself up for a cozy autumn. While you’re at it, give your yard a bit of TLC and tuck it in for a season of rest and dormancy. Just a few tasks each weekend will have your yard ready for the winter!

Here’s an easy checklist that covers a few essential fall tasks for four different parts of your yard and garden.

Fall Lawn Care

Lawns are pretty resilient, but they can use a bit of TLC in the fall. Fall is the perfect time for your lawn to absorb nutrients and water, and settle in for a season of rest and a period of dormancy once temperatures go below 4ºC. Here are three tasks you can do for your lawn this season.

Aerate: Aerating your lawn helps to get air, moisture, and nutrients down to the roots of your grass. It also helps reduce compaction so that the grass can grow stronger. Aeration also improves drainage, so it can help prevent your grass from dying off from sitting water.
Fertilize: Fertilizing your lawn now with a high-potassium, low-nitrogen fertilizer will help it store lots of nutrients to last the winter and harden off to survive the colder temperatures.
Tackle moss & overseed: If your lawn has any bare patches, this is a great time to overseed. If your grass is sparse due to moss, you’ll want to tackle the moss first. There are a few different turf-building, moss-killing products available. Follow the instructions for the moss killer before overseeding. Usually, it’s best to wait a few weeks before seeding.

Fall Garden Cleanup

For much of Canada, fall is time to put the garden to bed for the winter. But us lucky ducks in Powell River can start a whole new growing season! Take this opportunity to protect winter crops, and do some garden cleanup, but not too much. It’s important to leave some detritus for the overwintering pollinators.

Lift summer-blooming bulbs: Tender bulbs, like dahlias, begonias, gladiolas, canna, and calla lilies, may rot if left in wet soil over the winter. Once the foliage has started to yellow, dig them up, cut the tops off, trim the roots shorter, and then lay them out to dry. Store them somewhere cool, dark, and dry for the winter.
Protect winter veggies and plant cover crops: There are many veggies we can grow through the Powell River winter with just a little protection. Now is an excellent time to look over your cold frames, row covers, or greenhouse to ensure they’re ready to keep your veggies happy and safe from frost. It’s also a great time to plant a garden cover crop; clover is an excellent choice because it helps break up hard earth and adds nitrogen back to the soil.
Collect leaves and compost them: Leaves make some of the best soil conditioners, so rake them up and add them to your compost bin, spread them over your garden beds as mulch, or work them right into the soil to decompose over winter.

Fall Landscape Tidy Up

A few landscaping chores can get your yard looking tidy and well-cared for through the winter, and help keep your plants safe and healthy for next spring.

Trim hedges: Evergreen hedges will look great through the winter if they get a quick little haircut in the fall. A light trim keeps edges looking clean and sharp, and will encourage bushier new growth next spring.
Mulch everything: If you’ve added any new trees or shrubs, or you have established trees and shrubs, a new layer of mulch will help protect them from winter freeze and thaw cycles, which cause the most damage. A deep layer, 2-4 inches thick, acts as an insulating blanket, preventing the shock of freeze-thaw-freeze that can kill plants.
Clean up fruit and berries: Fallen fruit and berries start to rot and are very attractive to bears. Keep them cleaned up to prevent unwanted bear visitors and to prevent pest infestations as well.

Fall Yard & Home Maintenance

Do these home maintenance tasks in the fall to ensure your home is ready for everything the cold weather might throw at it!

Empty hoses, rain barrels, and outdoor water pipes: Or, you can install water heaters to keep them from freezing. Disconnect your hoses, let them drain fully, and then store them for the winter. You may also want to empty your rain barrels if there is a chance of them freezing over the winter months. Alternatively, many small water heater options can keep the water warm enough to prevent freezing. You may also want to locate your outdoor water shutoff valve, and then let the outdoor faucets run until they’re empty to prevent burst pipes.
Prep water features for winter: If you have a pond or fountains, now is an excellent time to clean them up and get them ready for winter. If you have a pump in your pond or fountain, remove it, clean it, drain it, and store it somewhere warm and dry. Drain fountains and store them if they’re portable. If they’re not mobile, you may want to wrap them with a water-resistant cover to keep water from collecting in them and then freezing and thawing, which could cause cracking. If you have a deep pond with fish, you may need to install a small circulation pump to keep the water from freezing over. Or, you can bring your fish inside for the winter.
Clean the eavestroughs on your house: With all the leaves falling off the trees and blowing around, it’s critical to check your gutters before winter arrives. Clean out any leaves, needles, pine cones, and other debris to ensure you have no blockages during our rainy season. Gutter guards can help keep larger twigs and branches out of your gutters, but you’ll still need to clean out smaller debris occasionally.

Whatever you need to get your fall yard and garden chores done, you can pick it up at Mother Nature. Stop by to pick up tools, and take a peek through the home decor and self-care products for seasonal inspiration. Once you’ve finished your fall chores, cozy up and give yourself a little break to soak up the beauty of the season!