Many tips and tricks exist for beginners who want to plant their first fall garden. This article discusses some of the most helpful expert tips which will ensure that you succeed in your desire to nurture a garden in the fall.
Select the Plants Carefully
One of the most important steps you should take is to pay attention to the plants you decide to plant in your fall garden. Make sure that you select varieties which mature quickly, such as those which require 60 to 70 days to mature. Examine any potted seedlings before you buy them from a nursery. Select healthy plants whose roots haven’t started protruding from the containers. Such plants will establish quickly and reach maturity at the expected time.
Amend the Soil
Your fall garden will be lush and healthy if you enrich the soil before planting your chosen plants in it. Apply compost liberally before you bring in the plants. The seedlings will have all the nutrients that they need to grow at a steady pace. Moisture retention will also be boosted when you amend the soil prior to planting your fall garden.
Start Indoors
Experienced gardeners don’t wait for the fall in order to establish a nursery. Instead, they get a few weeks’ head-start by starting the process indoors while the temperature outside is still very high. The climate-controlled environment indoors will permit the seeds to germinate so that you can transplant them as soon as the outdoor temperature starts dropping. This approach will allow you to harvest for a longer period before winter sets in and causes the plants to wither.
Water Before Transplanting
Your seedlings will stand a higher chance of getting established in the fall garden if you water those seedlings before transplanting them. Watering them will ensure that they are properly hydrated and ready to survive those first hours/days when the roots aren’t active just after transplanting.
Use Mulch
Do you want to reduce how much water you use and also protect the fall garden from some of the cold conditions? Apply a thick layer of mulch in your fall garden. Use organic mulch if you can since it will gradually decompose and provide additional nutrients for your plants. The mulch will also suppress weed growth and you will have fewer maintenance tasks to perform in your garden.
Use Low Tunnels
Are you saddened each time you see a fall garden wilting as winter sets in? You can prolong your growing season and delay such cold-induced wilting by constructing low tunnels to shield your plants from the worst of the weather. In this way, you will be able to harvest from your fall garden for many more weeks into the winter.
Learn Crop Rotation
It isn’t advisable to grow the same or similar plants on the same piece of land season after season. Pests and diseases can easily affect your fall garden since the prolonged growing of the same plants gives pathogens and pests a chance to thrive in the area. Research about plant families and keep alternating them in order to keep the soil fertile and free from pests and diseases.
You will soon be gardening like a pro if you implement the tips above as you plant your first fall garden.
