No matter what part of the country you reside in, the fall makes certain demands on our gardens. Leaves will need to be raked, lawns will need to be mowed, mulch will need to be put down, and different vegetables survive better in the colder weather than in the summertime. While the list of fall chores can sometimes be daunting, at Cypress Lawn, we’ve developed some fall gardening tips to help keep your autumn maintenance to a minimum and get a bonus payoff with a shorter ‘to-do’ list come Spring.
Upgrade and tune-up your tools and equipment:
When the fall season comes around, you may notice that prices on gardening tools and equipment starts dropping the closer it gets to the wintertime. While the price of winter tools may stay constant or even climb, prices for lawn-mowers, leaf blowers, weed trimmers, and other lawn and garden tools. It doesn’t hurt to check out thrift shops and flea markets for gardening tools as well—some people that attempt to take up gardening as a hobby and give up will donate or sell their tools, and often times these tools are in great condition! In addition to looking around for new tools and equipment, you should take stock on what you have and make note of what tools need a tune-up or an upgrade.
There are some very simple home remedies to tuning up the contents of your shed. One of the many amazing uses of aluminum foil is that it makes a great scrub pad to remove dirt, rust, and other build up from shovels, hoes and most other metal gardening tools. Additionally, after you’re done scrubbing down your tools, you can sharpen your garden shears and pruners by simply cutting through the aluminum foil scouring pad a few times.
You can also keep your metal tools from rusting while you store them by coating the metal surfaces with motor oil—even used motor oil works—and then putting this end in a plastic bag along with some pieces of charcoal.
Build your own compost pile and mulch:
Building your own compost pile is quite simple. If you don’t already have one, you’ll definitely want to consider it for all the leaves, pumpkins and other yard debris that begins to pile up in the autumn, and you’ll want to build it before the winter sets in so you’ll have somewhere to rake up all of this compost. Building a compost pile is as easy as staking up a hoop of three-to-four feet high chicken-wire or other mesh fencing—make sure that it allows for air circulation from the sides and is deep enough for leaves and other organic matter to compress them due to gravity.
Additionally, the compost makes for great homemade mulch and fertilizer. Likewise, be on the lookout for any rogue bales of straw. After Thanksgiving, your neighbors may begin putting these bales out for the garbage man to take. Simply ask them if they mind if you take them—straw makes for amazing mulch and can be added to your compost pile to enrich the fertilizer even more.
Seasonal Vegetables
Fall vegetable gardening differs greatly depending on where you are in the country. For Houston area gardeners, after the summer heat has come and gone, it may be time to plant some tomatoes and eggplants in the early autumn. Stopping by your local garden supply store could help you get an idea of what vegetables are the best to plant during specific times in the autumn.
Likewise, you can usually get good deals on vegetables that are in season. In the early autumn it’s generally recommended to plant the vegetables that are more root-like such as potatoes, radishes, and beets. Likewise it is recommended to plant greens such as peas, broccoli, zucchini, lettuce and mustard in addition to herbs and spices. The cold weather and winter soil allows for many herbs to flourish more easily than they would in the Texas summer heat.
Contact us for all lawn care needs
Regardless of the time of year, Cypress Lawn is always available to aid you in your lawn care needs. For more information about fall gardening tips and what you can do to prepare, request a free estimate or call us at (281) 387-9708 today.