I love this time of year, despite the fact that plants are dying and the growing season is coming to an end.Winter will be coming in a few months following pumpkins and Christmas trees. Isn’t it wonderful how plants are still part of our traditions?Cool fall breezes make gardening this time of year pleasant. Getting ready for the time when plants will be dormant is very important. Here are some steps that will help you start your checklist.1 – Remove diseased plants from the garden. They might infect next year’s plants. Don’t put these plants into your composting pile. Compost doesn’t get hot enough to kill diseases. Healthy plants that have died from cooler temperatures can be added to compost.2 – Allow plants like Black-Eyed-Susans, asters and coneflowers to go to seed without cutting them down. These plants have important nutrients for birds. Cut these back after the flower heads are gone.3 – As we talked about in the book, this is a good time to mulch your garden. Use compost, pine bark, pine straw, hardwood mulch or even shredded leaves to cover the soil around bushes, trees and across open crop space.
