What to add? Compost, raw organic matter, and organic nutrients. Autumn is a good time to improve your soil by adding raw organic matter, such as shredded leaves.
Adding shredded leaves to my raised beds is one of my favorite ways to enrich garden soil. Chopped leaves lighten heavy soils, feed the worms, add nutrients and help the soil retain moisture. You can compost them first to make leaf mold or you can dig several inches of shredded leaves into the soil in autumn.
The fall is the best time to add compost or manure to your garden soil. There are many forms of nitrogen that can exist in compost or manure. Not all forms of nitrogen are forms that plants can use. Some forms of nitrogen need to be broken down by bacteria or other plants into forms that are usable.
Cover crops, such as fall rye, crimson clover, buckwheat and others are easy to grow. When they are digested by soil microorganisms they restore organic matter and nutrient levels in the soil. Because they are sown thickly, they also help to outcompete weeds.
Fall Fertilization of Garden Plants
Perennials appreciate having a high phosphate fertilizer with low nitrogen content. Applied in the fall, you will be assured of stronger plants in the spring producing more flowers than you ever thought they could.
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.
A complete fertilizer with a high ratio of both nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) is essential for root growth, winter hardiness and disease resistance. An ideal fall fertilizer blend will have a nitrogen to phosphorous to potassium (N:P:K) ratio of 24-4-12.
Start by adding compost. However big your pile of old soil, add about 1/3rd additional compost to it. Compost recharges and adds incredible structure the soil. The finer the compost is, the better for potting soil.
There really isn't a bad time to add compost to your garden. The most popular times are in late fall, so the nutrients have time to fully incorporate into the soil, and early spring, about two weeks before you plant, so that the nutrients are fresh in the soil.
The easier, healthier approach is to add compost or plant residues to the soil surface or to incorporate them into only the top few inches of soil. The soil biota will take care of breaking the material down into nutrients your plants can use, and moving the nutrients down into the soil where plant roots can find them.
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.
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 Compost
Working compost into soil will feed the soil, improve soil structure, enable soil to retain nutrients, promote good drainage while also absorbing water deep in the soil, keeps soil loose so air can reach plant roots, helps maintain a neutral pH, and protects plants from many common garden diseases.
Consider the specific requirements of the plants you want to grow. For example, if you're planting cool-season grasses, laying topsoil in the fall is ideal. Alternatively, if you're planting warm-season grasses or certain vegetables, early spring may be a better option.
Adding nutrient-rich compost in the fall will greatly improve your soil next spring. Healthy soil is teeming with life — from macro-organisms like earthworms and pill bugs down to the microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and microbes.
After the pile reaches around 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit, you want to stop adding greens and limit the amount of browns so that the compost can cure.
Soil Health: The Earthworm Test
If your soil is healthy, you should find at least 10 earthworms! If your soil has fewer than 10 worms, add more organic matter—compost, aged manure, leaf mold. Organic matter improves structure, slowly releases nutrients, and increases beneficial microbial activity.
You can sprinkle compost on top or mix it into your flower and vegetable beds, gently rake compost into tree beds, blend it with potting soil to revitalize indoor plants, or spread it on top of the soil on your lawn as a soil amendment.
Top it off: If the level of soil has dropped, add fresh planting mix also known as potting mix. Ideally, the soil comes to within an inch or so of the rim of the planter or raised bed. Use a fork or hand tool to blend the new soil into the old soil. Blend new soil into the old soil.
Fertilizing in the fall helps plants be hardier when the temperatures drop. We also recommend applying fertilizer in the late fall, toward the end of October or early November. This application will catalyze one last frenzy of root growth and really give your plants some staying power through the cold months.
Add organic matter. Incorporate compost to compacted soil to increase air, water and nutrients for plants. Protect topsoil with mulch or cover crops. Don't use chemicals unless there's no alternative.
Fall is the best and most important time to fertilize your lawn because: Fall's morning dew delivers moisture to help turf absorb the fertilizer. The grass has a chance to build stamina before a chilly winter. Supporting root growth in fall leads to a healthier, greener lawn in spring.
When To Fertilizer Your Lawn in the Fall. The best time to apply your last fertilizer application is between August 15 and October 1. Ideally, your last lawn feeding should take place six to eight weeks before the average first frost in your area.
Not only is fall fertilizer the most important feeding for the cold season, but it's also essential for a great spring lawn as well. Fertilizing in the fall gives your grass a head start for next spring by causing an earlier spring green-up.