What not to forget about in your rush to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch

Fall doesn’t have to mean the end of your gardening season! Here in Madison, WI, fall can be a great time to plant things that you want to enjoy next spring and summer- The lack of blistering hot days can help encourage root growth and get your plants nice and cozy in their new home before the snow falls. Some bulbs and seeds also require a dormancy period - by planting in the fall you can fulfill this requirement without the need for unnecessary human intervention...like putting them in the freezer and inevitably forgetting about them and feeling guilty when you find their hollow corpse in a paper bag behind a pizza a year later. NOT speaking from experience.

In the fall you can take advantage of knowing where everything is when making the decision of where you would like to plant bulbs. By taking inventory of where things have spread over the summer you lower the risk of accidentally damaging your great-aunts heirloom plant’s roots in the process.

If your garden is chock full of bulbs already, fall is also a great time for a lawn installation or maintenance. Whether it’s over-seeding an existing patchy lawn, or aerating to assist in the generation of deeper and more resilient roots before the frost, there is still time to take action to have your dream lawn next season. You will also want to be sure to give an extra boost of acidity to your soil near plants that thrive in a low pH like rhododendrons, blueberries and azaleas. You can achieve this by adding soil sulfur. When done in the fall, there is time for the chemistry to take place so your soil is at the optimal pH for nutrient uptake when things start growing again in the early spring.

Now that you know some new things you can keep your green thumbs busy on- let’s not forget to harvest the last 1000 zucchini from those couple plants you started in the garden a couple months ago….