Fall – it’s garden cleanup time
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Jane Scurich
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Just as our inner clock prompts us to “spring clean” our homes once the cold damp winter has passed, fall should prompt us to “garden clean.”
A neatly cleaned perennial bed has a new layer of mulch to enhance appearance and control weeds. Photo: Dry Stone GardenAs temperatures cool and daylight hours decline, plant growth tends to slow. Although fall is known to be an excellent planting season in our Mediterranean climate, it’s also a time to clean our gardens for spring planting. Remember Ben Franklin’s adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
So…where to start?
- Make a manageable and realistic plan.
- Gather your supplies: pruning tools and disinfectants to clean your tools as you move between plants, separate containers for material for the compost, diseased plants, leaves, roots, and stems for the landfill, and pots for cuttings to propagate.
- Summer flowering shrubs can be pruned now. Remove dead flowers and prune to control the size and shape of the plant.
- Herbaceous spring and summer blooming perennials should be cut back to encourage spring growth. Cut just above a node, 3 to 6 inches from the ground. Take time to mark your treasured perennials so that you don’t accidentally destroy them while digging in the spring garden.
- Take special care around roses, camellias, and fuchsias, all of which can harbor undesirable larvae, pests, and fungus including rose slugs, curculios, and powdery mildew. Use your landfill container for plant debris located under and around these flowering plants.
- Pick and discard old fruit still clinging to the tree as well as fallen fruit. Not only can the fruit spread disease in the garden, but also attract undesirable wildlife. Don’t make it easy for rodents and others to make your garden their winter home.
- Thoroughly clean your vegetable garden. Save seeds for next year’s crops, remove diseased material, and compost the rest. Make note of your plant locations to help plan your crop rotation in the spring.
- Pull weeds before they set seed that will spread to other parts of your garden.
- Don’t limit cleaning to the garden. Clean and store unused pots and containers that might offer desirable hiding places for snails, slugs, insects, spiders, and rodents.
- Garden trellises, tomato cages, posts, and other plant supports should be disinfected to prevent diseases from over-wintering. Don’t forget to clean the various clips and ties used to train vines to supports – there are lots of little hiding spaces for next spring’s unpleasant surprises! Wash your garden gloves.
Time to clean the flower beds of diseased rose leaves, season ending annuals, leaves and stems of summer blooming perennials and other garden clutter. - Remove soil from your garden tools and clean them with a disinfectant or a 10% bleach solution. Apply a light coat of oil to prevent rusting if you are retiring the tools until spring.
- Once the dead leaves, stems, flowers, and other garden debris are removed, it’s a good time to add a fresh 2-to-4-inch layer of mulch throughout the garden. Be cautious to keep mulch away from plant stems.
- Remember also to be firewise: fire season isn’t over! Clearing debris and removing branches close to your house and other buildings is essential. When choosing a mulch, incorporate inorganic products – gravel, rock, bricks, etc. 0 to 5 feet from structures. For the next 30 feet, choose well-composted wood chips and include areas of hardscaping among your well irrigated plantings. Avoid products like shredded redwood, also known as gorilla bark, shredded rubber, pine chips and needles, and other combustible mulches.
Head on out to enjoy the crisp autumn air and make your garden unwelcoming to over-wintering pests and plant problems! Your summer garden will thank you!
