As the leaves start to change and the air gets that crisp bite, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get your backyard beds in shape for fall. I know, you’d rather be sipping hot cider on the porch, but your future self—and your plants—will thank you for a little effort now.
So today I’m sharing my easy fall garden bed checklist. Feel free to use it. If you do, your backyard beds will be ready for whatever winter throws at them…
1. Out with the Old, In with the Compost
First things first: get rid of the spent plants and weeds in your backyard.
By now, some of your summer bloomers and veggies have thrown in the towel. Pull out the dead annuals and trim back perennials a few inches – there’s no need to be shy about it.
When pruning perennials, leave a few seed heads behind, especially on plants like echinacea or rudbeckia. Not only do these add winter interest to your backyard, but they also provide food for birds. Plus, it saves you a little effort!
When pulling up dead plants, leave the roots of legumes (like beans and peas) in the soil. Their roots naturally fix nitrogen in the ground, improving the soil’s fertility for next season. By letting the roots decompose in place, you’re adding a natural fertilizer right where you need it.
If you have a compost bin, throw any healthy plant material in there (just not the weeds or diseased plants). You can add these in with grass clippings and fallen leaves for a rich blend your beds will love come spring.
If you don’t have a compost bin, here’s the simplest way to make one.
2. Turn Over the Soil (Without Breaking Your Back)
Once you’ve cleared out the debris, it’s time to loosen up that soil. After a season of plants rooting around, it’s probably compacted.
You don’t need a heavy-duty tiller for this—just grab a garden fork or spade and lightly turn the top few inches of soil. This helps air out the soil and lets moisture penetrate deeper over winter.
3. Feed the Soil: Compost and Amendments
Just like you stock up on snacks before a snowstorm, your soil needs some nourishment to get through winter.
Add a couple of inches of compost (from your compost bin if you have one, or you can buy this gourmet one), aged manure, or a balanced fertilizer (available online here). This helps replenish nutrients that were sucked out during the growing season.
Do you grow bulbs?
Adding bone meal in the fall can give your bulbs an extra boost! Bone meal is rich in phosphorus, which helps with root development. It also breaks down slowly, feeding your soil throughout winter and into spring, just in time for those new bulbs to start growing.
Here’s a list of 10+ bulbs you can plant in fall for a gorgeous spring garden.
For those of you who like to get fancy with your soil, now’s one of the times for a soil test (using a kit like this one from Amazon) to see if you need any specific adjustments like lime for acidic soil or sulfur to lower the pH.
4. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch!
If there’s one thing you can’t forget, it’s mulch. You can use shredded leaves all over, straw on your veggie beds, or wood chips in decorative areas.
If you have a lot of trees, run over the fallen leaves with your mower and use those as free mulch.
Mulching with pine needles is a great option for areas where you have acidic soil-loving plants, like blueberries or azaleas. Pine needles help maintain a slightly acidic soil pH, and they don’t break down as fast as other mulches, meaning less work for you.
A nice thick layer of mulch (2-3 inches) will insulate your plants’ roots, prevent soil erosion, and help retain moiture.
Just make sure not to pile the mulch right up against plant stems—give them a little breathing room.
5. Divide and Conquer (Your Perennials, That Is)
If your perennials are looking a little crowded, now’s the time to dig them up and divide them.
Plants like hostas, daylilies, and irises benefit from a little elbow room, and this is your chance to spread the wealth around the backyard.
When dividing perennials, try dipping the roots in a mycorrhizal inoculant before replanting. Mycorrhizae are beneficial fungi that create a symbiotic relationship with your plants’ roots, helping them absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. It’s like giving your plants a head start for spring growth!
Just dig up the plants, split them into smaller clumps with a sharp spade or knife, dip them in mycorrhizae, and replant them at the same depth.
6. Plant Spring Bulbs (While You Still Can)
Fall is the time to plant your spring bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and crocuses.
Dig a hole that’s about 2-3 times deeper than the bulb itself, pointy side up, and cover with soil. Easy peasy.
The colder the climate, the earlier you should get these bulbs in the ground before it freezes. Some bulbs bloom early spring, others mid-spring, and others are your late bloomers – find out when your spring bulbs will bloom here.
Squirrels love to dig up tulip bulbs, but they hate the taste of daffodils. To protect your tulips, plant them alongside daffodils or sprinkle a little cayenne pepper in the hole when you plant. Another trick is to cover the bed with chicken wire to stop squirrels from digging, then remove it once the ground freezes.
7. Covering Crops: Not Just for Farmers
If you’re leaving veggie beds bare for the winter, consider planting a cover crop like winter rye or clover.
These prevent erosion, suppress weeds, and improve soil health. Come spring, you can just till them into the soil for a natural fertilizer boost.
Some cover crops, like hairy vetch, actually add nitrogen to your soil as they grow. They are part of the legume family, just like peas and beans, and are great for veggie gardens. When you till them in the spring, they act as a natural fertilizer, meaning less work (and money) for you!
8. Prune, but Don’t Overdo It
Fall is a good time to prune some plants, but not everything.
We’ve already cut back perennials that are done for the season.
Now’s the time to prune summer-flowering shrubs but don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs and trees – doing so encourages new growth that can get zapped by frost. Instead, save their major pruning for late winter or early spring.
9. Don’t Forget the Tools
Once your backyard beds are all set, take a moment to clean up your garden tools. Here’s a list of essential winter gardening tools you want to make sure you have ready for the cold.
Sharpen those pruners, clean the dirt off the shovels, forks and rakes, and give everything a wipe down.
Coat the metal parts of your tools with vegetable oil before storing them for winter. This prevents rust and keeps them ready for action when spring rolls around. You can also use a bucket of sand mixed with oil—just dip your tools in and out a few times to clean them and keep them from rusting over winter.
You’ll be glad you did all of this when spring rolls around and everything’s not rusted or dull.
10. Attract Biodiversity
Let your backyard be a resting refuge for insects and animals in the cold. It’s very easy to do.
Leaving a small pile of leaves or sticks in an out-of-the-way corner of your backyard can actually benefit wildlife. Many beneficial insects like ladybugs, and even small mammals like hedgehogs (if you’re lucky enough to have them), use these piles as overwintering spots. It’s an easy way to encourage biodiversity in your backyard without lifting a finger.
Installing a bug hotel made from materials like stacked logs or bamboo also encourages solitary bees, spiders, and beetles to take refuge.
And planting native trees, shrubs, and berry-producing plants offers food and shelter for birds and small mammals, while offering a small water source, like this heated birdbath, ensures they have access to water during the freezing months.
Now that your backyard beds are prepped, you can sit back and enjoy the rest of fall without worrying about your garden.
You’ve set the stage for a successful spring, and when the first signs of life pop up in March or April, you’ll thank yourself for putting in the effort now.
