Fall Garden Chores for Spring Success

 Spring can come fast in the north, so getting ready in the fall is the smart thing to do. I'm talking garden chores here. Many people get bored or tired of garden work by the end of summer as the harvest wanes and weeds take over. But if you want to be ready earlier in the spring, there is much that can and should be done in the fall.

Removing all the dead vegetation and weeding the garden beds should be a priority. Pest insects and some diseases will over-winter in the dead vegetation. Getting them out of the garden and raking the top two inches of soil will get rid of most of the pests and expose those left behind to the harsh weather, which will hopefully kill them as well.

The raised bed to the left still needs to get cleaned up but this one is properly cleared of all weeds and dead plant material. Every couple of days I will lightly rake the topsoil to expose any insect eggs to the well below freezing temps at night. This should greatly reduce to number of bugs that hatch in the spring. Later, I will cover this bed with a couple inches of mulch to protect the soil from rains and to feed the soil bacteria and worms.

I built the U-shaped raised bed recently and filled them with soil, which is still settling. The pavers were just hastily put down just to see if I had enough. I will pull them up in the spring and set them in place properly then. The weedy area will become one large bed for larger crops such as corn and potatoes. I need to till it under soon before it freezes.

My compost pile cooled down from 143 degrees to about 70-80, due to lack of oxygen. The compost had been up to 143 degrees a week previously and was hot for over three weeks. But as the bacteria digest the organic matter, they use up the available oxygen and their metabolic processes slow down.
 

So, I used a pitchfork to move the material from this bin to the one on the right. I layered this with some older, half-composted material (to add bacteria) and some fresh plant matter from my flower gardens. This adds much needed air space, to hold more oxygen, and fresh green material to help feed the bacteria.

The result, after three days, is 150-degree temperatures and you can see that the composting process is well under way. I will probably turn and mix the compost one or two more times before the cold winter air brings the composting process to a crawl. But, by late spring, I will have approximately 20-25 cubic feet of good quality compost to add to my raised beds.