Chicago Home and Lifestyles – Fall Yard and Garden Upkeep

Summer is waning and fall has begun. Weather around the Chicago area has been somewhat warm, staying in the 70s with some cool nights. The garden and landscape are still going, but with cooler weather coming growth will be slowing. Here are some things to do now to get things ready for cooler weather!

Keep harvesting vegetables from the garden. Hopefully you planted lettuce in late August since that will flourish in the cooler temperatures, but you should definitely pull out and remove any plants that are no longer producing. Also remove spent plants from the garden and dispose of them. Don’t use them for mulch or for compost. Often plants, especially tomatoes, carry some disease and it’s best to get rid of them. After all the plants are done lay a half inch or so of mushroom compost. This will work itself into the soil over the winter and enrich it for spring. 

Keep watering that grass you planted. It will also flourish with the cooler temperatures, and you want it hardy enough to survive the winter. The lawn could also use some topsoil after the long hot summer to support that new grass and keep the older grass healthy. Try to find topsoil as dry as possible. I know it can be hard with many garden centers leaving it out. We leave a few bags drying in the garage. Throw out shovels full in a sweeping motion and spread it out with the back of a rake. 

If your trees and shrubs need trimming, do it now. You need to trim early enough so the new growth has sufficient time to harden off before the deep freeze in November. Continue deep watering even if you think there is sufficient rain. Decent rain is good enough for a lawn and garden but shrubs and trees, especially recently planted, need deep thorough waterings before the ground freezes. 

Kathleen Weaver-Zech and Dean’s Team Chicago