• Fertilize your lawn – this is the most important application of the year. Use a slow release nitrogen product for best results. I use CIL Golfgreen Fall Lawn Fertilizer.
• Cut your lawn (maybe for the last time!) about 2 ½ inches or 6 cm high.
• Dig your carrots, leeks, left over potatoes etc. and store in bushel baskets ½ full of pure, dry sand. Put in your basement or fruit cellar.
• Yank out your annuals and finished veggie plants. Put them in your composter or compost pile.
• Plant Holland tulips, daffodils, crocus and the like.
• Begin thinking about winterizing your roses that are not of the ‘shrub’ type. Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, Floribundas etc. will need about 50 cm (1 ½ feet) of fresh triple mix piled up from the bottom. If you live on the Prairies, now is a good time to do this. In central Canada and the Maritimes the best time is just before the Grey Cup game – the game is your reward for doing the job!
• Clean and sharpen your lawn mower before you put it away.
• Wrap spiral plastic collars on young fruit trees to protect them from rodent damage.
• Spray broad-leafed evergreens with Wiltpruf (an anti-desiccant) to prevent the drying effects of winter wind.
• Wiping down all of your digging and cutting tools with an oily cloth.
• Rake fallen leaves off of your lawn and on to your flower beds where the earth worms will pull them down into the soil. Good insulation for your perennials this winter.
• Empty your compost bin of last years’ material and fill it with new.
Enjoy these last few days in the garden before the hard frost of late fall. The air is clear and hopefully you will receive some sunshine for your fall work days!!
