Fall isn’t just for cider mills and haunted houses! It’s the perfect time to prepare and prune your lawn and gardens for next year. While we’d all love to stuff ourselves with donuts and cider, or run through a corn maze, taking time before Michigan freezes will help you next Spring. Use this checklist for your lawn, vegetable and flower garden to make sure you’re fully prepared.

Vegetable Garden Checklist

• Do your plants thrive in the heat of summer, or in colder temperatures with less daylight? Determine Fall vegetables to harvest before Winter comes.
• If your vegetable garden won’t grow in time, then pot plant your vegetables. The pots can be brought in when it’s too cold.
• If your vegetable seeds didn’t make it into the ground in time, seeds stored in the freezer correctly will last for years.
• Fall vegetable gardens can keep tasty food in your home through the winter if planted correctly.

Garden Checklist:

• If you fertilize your soil, doing so in October or November will prove to be most beneficial for the root system.
• Don’t fertilize too late, as you don’t want new growth when plants should be dormant.
• Leave your mowed leaves on the grass to provide organic matter for flowerbeds.
• Plant hardy bulbs such as: daffodils, tulips, crocuses, irises and peonies. This will give them time to plant their roots for the Spring.
• Plan on dividing your flower beds, do so every two to three years to allow the proper time for growth.

Lawn Care:

• Re-adjust your mowing height to cut grass shorter and avoid grass being matted down during the winter.
• Fertilize cool-season grasses to keep them green and healthy for the Spring.
• Have a problem spot in your lawn? Work to repair this in the Fall to allow it time to rejuvenate for Spring.
• Mulch or rake leaves to avoid smothering grass.
• Don’t forget to prep your sprinkler and irrigation system for the winter by draining the lines.

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