4 Ways to Prep Your Garden This Fall for a Better Spring

Take care of this fall garden prep for a better spring growing season

Late fall and early winter are not the time to give up on the garden and go inside. Get outside for a breath of crisp, fresh air and tackle a couple of tasks that will make your spring garden workload lighter! Watch the video above to see how our test garden manager, Jenny, prepares the garden for next year with a few basic garden tasks.

1. Amend your soil

Fall is the perfect time to amend your soil. One of the best things you can apply is a topdressing of compost. Whether you buy it or make it yourself, it will add nutrients and organic matter to keep your soil healthy and productive.

Add compost to garden beds

Simply pull back mulch and spread ¼ to ½ inch of compost around plants in your garden beds, then fluff the mulch back in place. The compost will have all winter to blend into your existing garden soil with natural freeze/thaw cycles. That extra layer can also help insulate and protect roots of newly planted perennials and shrubs from harsh winter temperatures, just like mulch does.

Grow cover crops to improve soil

Another great way to build better soil, especially for vegetable gardens, is by planting a winter cover crop. This can be done right after you harvest your last summer vegetables, or at least 4 weeks before the first hard freeze in your region. Clear away spent plants and lightly till the soil to prepare the bed, then sow cover crop seed and water in. For an easy cover crop to start with, try oats (Avena sativa) or red clover (Trifolium pratense).

Growing oats as a cover crop

Oats grow thick roots that reduce compaction, hold moisture, and add organic matter before dying off in freezing temperatures. In spring, cut back dried top growth (or mow to chop it into finer bits) and plant through the resulting mulch, or till it into the soil before you plant early spring vegetables.

Growing red clover as a cover crop

Red clover, in the illustration above, will grow in the fall, then go dormant through winter. Allow it to sprout again in early spring and just as it begins to bloom (it will be the most beneficial from a nutrient standpoint at this time), till it under. Wait until midspring, about 2 to 3 weeks after tilling, then plant warm-season vegetables in soil amended by the nitrogen-fixing clover debris.

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2. Continue to manage weeds

Though it might seem useless to keep pulling weeds in late fall, do it anyway. There will be less cleanup in spring, fewer weeds to pull in the future, and spring plants will emerge unencumbered by debris.

3. Transplant a tree

Fall is also great time to plant or move a tree — the weather is cool and less stressful on the plant than in summer, and you don’t have to baby it through the heat. Evergreen trees can be transplanted any time after the candles (new growth) harden off by early fall, to at least 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes. Deciduous trees, such as maples (Acer spp. and hybrids) and oaks (Quercus spp. and hybrids), can be dug and moved as they begin to go dormant — after the foliage turns color and the leaves drop.

Tree planting tips

The rule of thumb for transplanting a tree is to dig a root ball 10 times the diameter of the trunk in both width and depth. For instance, a 1-inch diameter trunk should have a root ball 10 inches wide and deep. The more roots that can be dug intact, the better to lessen the shock of transplanting. Water thoroughly after planting.

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4. Move & transplant perennials in fall

Some perennials move better in fall than spring. It's also the perfect time to pick up a few bargain plants at the garden center during an end-of-the-season sale.

Here’s a list of perennials that are best to transplant in fall:

• Carex (Carex spp. and hybrids)

  Foliage plants like carex (above) can be easily moved and divided in fall by simply digging a chunk out of the plant and replanting. Next spring, trim back winter-damaged foliage and new growth will fill in without an abrupt flat side where you dug into the plant that might show if you did this in spring or summer.

• Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata)

  Perennials like garden phlox get dead centers when it is time to divide, so it’s easy to see in the fall which ones need to be moved. Cut back the plant in late fall and dig chunks of the roots out for transplanting. They won’t miss a beat in spring, and you won’t have to baby them in the heat of summer if you do it now.

• Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)

  Hardy hibiscus are slow to start in spring, so transplanting in the fall 4 to 6 weeks before a frost allows roots to become established and they won’t be set back even further in spring. To divide an especially large hibiscus, cut the root ball into just two pieces (any more could be hard for the plant to recover) with a sharp knife and replant at the same level as before.

• Lily (Lilium spp. and hybrids)

  Once lily foliage begins to fade, the bulbs have stored enough energy to sprout again in spring. Cut back the stalks 5 to 6 inches above the ground and dig to transplant. Pull off smaller bulblets and replant them as well to get more lilies.

• Peony (Paeonia spp. and hybrids)

  Peonies don’t like to be disturbed, so it’s best to move them when they are not actively growing, giving the roots ample time to recover and grow new shoots in spring without disrupting the plant’s flowering cycle. To divide, simply cut the root ball with a sharp knife into two or three chunks and replant the roots no more than 2 inches deep.