In the case of prepping new beds in the fall or existing but empty beds, the process is simple. Amend the bed with 2 to 3 inches (5- 8 cm.) of compost mixed well and deeply with soil. Then cover the bed with a 3 to 4 inch (8-10 cm.)
Organic Soil Amendments
Most organic fertilizers release their nutrients slowly over many months, so applying them in the fall helps ensure they'll be available to your plants next spring. If you can get your hands on some kelp meal, greensand, rock phosphate, or bone meal, do so.
A constant, fresh supply of organic matter is necessary to keep it growing healthy. While routinely adding an extra layer of topsoil to your lawn can be helpful, fall is the most opportune time to do so. This is because the winter can be a particularly difficult time for the plant life on your property.
Add a Layer of Finished Compost and Mulch: Push aside mulch, pull any weeds, and add a 1-2-inch layer of finished compost. Lightly cover the beds with the old mulch to help suppress weeds and protect the soil without insulating the beds. Many diseases and pests are killed when the soil freezes in winter.
From early fall through most of November is one of the best times of year to plant spring-blooming bulbs, cool-season annuals and vegetables, as well as many trees, shrubs, and perennials.
Fall Fertilizer Timing
For the majority of cool-season lawn owners, apply fertilizer anywhere from September through early November. The further north you garden, the sooner you'll feed your lawn. Fine-tune the timing for your locale by talking with your local extension service or garden center.
Apply fall lawn fertilizer once between August and November, right before winter hits, 6 to 8 weeks after the summer feeding. Apply the Scotts® Turf Builder® Annual Program Fall product now if you've been following that regimen.
Best Fall Lawn Fertilizer
While this fall lawn fertilizer dose is important, an application at the end of October or early November is essential. At that time, apply a fertilizer with a formula of 13-25-12. The push of phosphorus will stimulate root growth through November and even into early December.
Fall is the most common time of year for adding manure to a vegetable garden.
Once your garden area has been cleared of vegetation, add compost to improve the overall soil structure. Compost helps sandy soils hold more moisture and nutrients, and it makes clay soils lighter and better drained. Compost also adds trace nutrients needed by plants.
A fall garden can be beautifully productive at a much slower pace. Even so, the trick is remembering that, like the summer garden, the fall garden needs to be started months before the cool weather comes. For me in USDA zone 6, I prepare for the fall garden in July and August.
Remove Summer Edibles, Diseased Plants and Weeds
Strip plants of any remaining fruits and seeds and remove them from garden beds. You can add the plants to a compost pile, if you have one, or toss them in the green wastebin. (Fall is a great time to start composting.)
Once garden beds are cleared out, they should be raked and leftover debris removed from the soil. Organic materials like shredded fall leaves from trees can be spread and tilled 6 to 8 inches into to the garden bed. Grass clippings from a lawn treated with herbicide should not be added.
Also, do not cut back hardy perennials like garden mums (Chrysanthemum spp.), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria), and Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum). Leave the foliage. It's important to protect the root crowns over winter.
Autumn is a great season for annuals, low-maintenance perennials and evergreen shrubs to shine. In fact, some of the most popular flowers, like colorful mums, roses, dahlias, purple pansies and yes, even bright yellow sunflowers, all bloom around September and October.
Violas and Pansies
These hardy little flowers not only have gorgeous blooms but can survive almost anything winter has to dish out. Violas and pansies grow best in partial shade but need a minimum of four hours of sunlight a day.
If you're planning a new bed for perennials, groundcovers, shrubs or trees to plant next spring, the path to success starts with a good foundation. It's easier to improve soil before plants are in place, so the time to do so is now.
Cover With Mulch
If you don't want to plant cover crops, cover your garden soil with mulch, which protects the ground from the winter elements while holding everything in place. Organic mulch is the way to go. Bark, wood chips, straw, grass clippings, rice and other seed hulls are great options.