Fall Work

Even though your home landscape isn’t in full bloom now doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the clear crisp days of fall. There is plenty to do outside.

• Cleaning - Your tools: although it is better to clean after every use we are too busy to do that consistently. Take great care handling the blades and other sharp parts. After cleaning use a metal oil to prevent rusting. Also consider to sharpen now when time is plentiful. Your mower: remove all accumulated clippings from under the deck to help prevent the spread of disease and keep your mower in better condition. Inspect for damage and fix as necessary. After you are done with it for the season, drain the gas, change the oil, and air filter. Consult the owner’s manual for specifics and work safely. Your garden: remove any diseased plant material completely. Bag it and set it out for trash removal. Compost only debris from healthy plants. Remove any weeds too. A little bit of prevention can inhibit diseases from over wintering.


• Compost - Your way of recycling naturally: start a compost pile with grass clippings and spent plants. Shredding leaves with your mower helps them break down quickly. You can use them around trees shrubs and tender perennials as mulch.


• Crops - Your choice now will pay dividends next year: the fall is ideal for planting garlic, spring bulbs, and trees. Sow a cover crop such as winter rye that will grow this fall and protect the topsoil during winter. The following spring, plow the cover crop back into the soil to enrich it with fresh organic matter. This reduces populations of soil-borne disease agents.


• Care - Your can work around the home into the fall: grass still grows this time of year so remember to cut it regularly. And it is the ideal time to add lime, over seed and take a soil test to get the best turf for next year. Also, look around your home’s foundation. If you notice clumps of ornamentals or accumulated leaves, remove them. Rodents use these as nesting sites and means of hiding as they try to enter your house.

For more or specific information on fall garden care, please contact the Penn State Master Garden helpline at (570) 963- 6842 or email us at LackawannaMG@psu.edu.

Steve Ward
Master Gardener Coordinator
Penn State Cooperative Extension in Lackawanna County

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