Fall is really starting to set in now with the cooler temperatures and shorter days.  Use this time in your garden to do some cleanup and get your garden ready for Spring.

Unless you covered with with some row cover, we’re guessing your garden already got hit with the freezing temperatures we’ve been having lately. Hopefully you were able to harvest the last of your vegetables. If the hard shell developed enough on your pumpkins and winter squashes you should be able to store your them for several months in a cool dark place.  Green tomatoes can be ripened in a cardboard box or paper bag.

Continue planting your spring flowering bulbs until the ground freezes.  Divide your perennials if you haven’t done so already, and plant any new shrubs/trees while the ground is still soft.  Also make sure to keep watering any new plants until the ground freezes.

Fall is also the perfect time to mulch.  Surround your plants with 2-3 inches of mulch/soil conditioner to protect your plants from the cold, help retain moisture, and prevent new weeds from sprouting.  Just make sure you don’t actually cover any of your plants, blocking them from air and sunshine – this could cause them to rot.  To learn more about the importance of mulch in the garden, check out this video from Moana Nursery in Reno: