Top 10 Fall Flower Farm/Garden Tasks to Start Today
Fall may be here but there’s still lots of work to be done in the field and garden!
In fact, fall is the most labor intensive season on the farm. After a long growing season, we’re bone deep tired. My husband and I often yell out to each other “Finish strong!” as we stumble our way toward the finish line (Thanksgiving is unofficial “end date” for field work). Ha!
Here’s my list of some of the most important “Fall Tasks” to tackle before the snow arrives.
1. Take Notes and Make Evaluations
Over the growing season, I take a farm walk each Sunday morning and write notes to my Future Self to help me make better growing decisions in the future. It takes me about 10 minutes, but it’s incredibly valuable.
At the end of the season, I allow myself a couple hours to do a longer farm walk and reflect on the entire year as a whole.
What worked? What didn’t? What did I love? What have I outgrown? What felt right? What do I actually want to grow?
It’s a simple notebook and it’s literally just scribbled notes like:
“Don’t grow as much Amaranth next year”
“Snow Maiden Scabiosa is a pain in the butt to harvest. I don’t ever want to do this again.”
“Plant 4 successions of Tender Annuals next year instead of 3”
When I start making my crop plans and seed order lists in the winter, I pull out these notes and thank my Past Self for being so honest and truthful. Because let’s face it, in the winter we all want to grow ALL THE THINGS… but my Past Self reminds me of what I actually need to grow. ;) Stick with the plan!
2. Submit a soil test
Fall is the best time to take and submit a soil test. Any soil test at any time of year is better than no soil test… but fall is ideal.
When taking and submitting a soil test, be sure to follow the instructions on the test EXACTLY.
Once your soil test has been mailed in and analyzed, you’ll receive recommendations on what you can do to improve your soil.
I suggest adding the soil amendments in the fall, rather than the spring. Why? Soil amending is a slow process and the sooner you can start, the better. Adding the amendments in the fall allows them to slowly incorporate into the soil over the winter, so that your soil is ready to go in the spring.
Do not skip this task. I know it can feel confusing, but HEALTHY SOIL = HEALTHY PLANTS. Improving the health of your soil is the absolute best thing you can do to reduce pest/disease issues and increase the productivity of your plants.
3. Cut back summer crops and repare your planting beds/areas for early spring planting.
If you want to plant “Hardy Annuals”, you’ll need to prepare your beds in the fall. Hardy Annuals are cool weather crops that grow best in the fall or spring. In order to grow them properly, you’ll likely need to plant them or sow the seeds in the fall, late winter or early spring.
If you live in a cold climate like mine, the soil is frozen most of the winter. As soon as the top inch of soil thaws out in early spring (March), it’s time to plant Hardy Annuals. Trust me - you don’t want to be trying to prepare beds in cold, muddy March.
Prepare your beds now and your March self will be so grateful.
4. Shop for and plant Perennials
Early Fall is the BEST time to plant Perennials, shrubs and trees. The cooler weather and increased rainfall is perfect for establishing these deeper rooted plants (instead of planting in the spring when the heat and drought of summer can stunt new plantings). Be sure to water them in well and apply a nice thick layer of mulch at the base to protect them from temperature extremes.
This is also when we plant bare root Peonies. The first season, we mulch them well to prevent frost heaving, but in subsequent years they don’t need mulch.
Many plant nurseries will still have a great selection of Perennials in the fall, so get out there and give your local plant nursery some love. Help them end their season strong!
5. Divide Perennials
If you already have lots of Perennials and they need to be split or divided, now is the time to do it. Here are some of my favorite Perennials for cut flower use.
6. Plant Spring blooming bulbs
As soon as the weather and the soil begins to cool down, it’s time to begin planting spring bulbs, like Tulips, Daffodils, Alliums, etc. Here in Michigan (Zone 5), we usually plant our Tulips in October or early November. Want to learn how we plant our Tulips that we grow for cut flowers? Learn more in this blog post.
7. Dig Dahlia tubers
In our climate, it’s too cold to overwinter Dahlias, so we must cut back the plants, dig up the tubers and store them over the winter to be replanted the following spring.
To learn more about digging and storing Dahlia tubers, read this blog post.
8. Preserve the harvest
As we cut back all the flowers (we cut each plant at the ground and leave the roots in the soil to increase organic matter), we reserve any blooms that can be dried for making dried flower arrangements. These dried flowers allow us to have “farm fresh, locally grown” flowers in our house all year long. Learn more about dried flowers in this blog post.
9. Wash and sanitize seed trays
If you grow your own seedlings, it’s ideal to wash everything at the end of the season so you have clean trays ready for next spring. A warm fall day is great for this.
Bring your supplies outside, turn on the hose and scrub your trays with soapy water. After rinsing the trays, spray them with equal parts vinegar and water. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse. Allow the trays to dry in the sun before stacking them.
Doing this outdoors in the fall is much easier than trying to wash all your trays in the bathtub in January. Ask me how I know this ;)
10. Collect fallen leaves
Leaf compost is a wonderful soil amendment, full of nutrients and beneficial bacteria. Best of all, it’s free!
We collect as many leaves as we can and create a giant leaf pile. We allow the leaves to break down for about a year, turning them occasionally to help them break down into small pieces. This massive pile eventually turns into a small pile of soft, crumbly, earthy smelling compost that plants love.
You can use this compost to top dress your planting beds or Perennials.
NOTE: Do not use Black Walnut tree leaves, as they contain a compound called juglone that can stunt the growth of other plants. Thankfully, Black Walnuts lose their leaves earlier than most other trees, so it’s easy to avoid mixing them with other leaves.
There you have it. Finish strong, friend!