Four Budget Fall Gardening Ideas

Gardening doesn't stop after Spring or Summer, in fact the only season you may be able to take a break is Winter in Virginia. This is why it is important to keep some basic maintenance tips in mind to keep things in order. Our friends at HouseLogic.com offer some really great tips if you don't know where to start!

Spread Mulch

“Fall mulching is better for the plants than spring mulching,” says Dan Taft, owner of The Cutting Edge in Chantilly, Va. “It helps protect roots from frost and helps retain moisture during a cold and dry winter.”

Spread 2 to 3 inches of fresh mulch around shrubs and trees. Taft warns home owners to avoid using free mulch from municipal piles, which often contain disease spores; instead, buy hardwood shredded mulch from home and garden centers, he says.

“Cheap, dump mulch mainly is made from trees that have died from disease,” Taft says. “Many diseases will linger in the mulch, like leaf spot and pine bark borers. You don’t want ground-up diseased plants around your landscaping.”

Remove the Dead and Dying

Fall isn’t the time to prune, because that encourages growth when healthy plants should remain dormant. But don’t shelve your shears and loppers yet. Fall is the time to neaten your landscaping before putting it to bed for the winter.

“If you remove dead landscaping in fall, you don’t have to look at it all winter,” Taft says.

• Remove dead annuals.
• Deadhead spent blooms, and cut back dead and desiccated ornamental grasses and perennials.
• Lightly prune dead and dying branches from shrubs and trees. Carefully remove dried blossoms from hydrangea, but don’t remove dead-looking stalks, where new buds will form in spring.
• After the first frost, cut back tea roses to about a third of their height.

Wrap Delicate Shrubs

Heavy snow, ice, and high winds can dry and split your delicate and pricey shrubs. To protect your landscaping from the winter elements:

• Hide small plants under overturned plastic pots or buckets.
• Wrap shrubs, such as boxwoods, in burlap.
• Surround vulnerable trees with shredded leaves.

Take Advantage of Fall Sales

Early fall until the ground freezes is a good time to plant trees and shrubs. Not only do cooler weather and autumn rain put less stress on young landscaping plants, nurseries often have sales to empty their shelves before winter.

“They need to sell every plant by Dec. 1,” Taft says. “Nurseries generally pay a third of the price that you’re paying. So don’t be afraid to offer less than the asking price. If you’re buying several things, the manager may give you a break.”

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5 Eco Friendly Fertilizers

You might not know it but a lot of things that we produce as waste can be used as an eco-friendly fertilizer. Food remains and even things like coffee grounds can make excellent nutrients for your lawn and plants. Here are our top five picks for things that can be used as natural fertilizers:

1. Shells - from crab, shrimp and lobster; can make an excellent natural compost. A lot of these crustaceans' mineral properties can release many useful nutrients to the soil. It is best to let them sit in a covered dirt hole in the ground for a few weeks before using them directly on your plants and lawn, this will allow it to start decomposing it first.

2. Fish - well their scraps at least can make a great fertilizers, these don't really need decomposing first but instead can be buried deep where you want to release all the supplements. You do want to bury them deep because this could potentially attract unwanted animal guests in your garden that are looking for food.

3. Coffee Grounds -  a lot of us enjoy having a nice cup of coffee every morning. Keeping coffee grounds in a jar for a few days and then using them on your grass or plants is a great way to use something that you use pretty much every morning. What's best is that it mixes in easily with your soil.

4. Comfrey - this is a plan that is has dual purpose, it has medicinal properties as well as it being a great fertilizer. You don't use the leaves directly but instead you use a sort of "tea" made out of its leaves, let some of the leaves sit overnight preferably in a place where it will receive sunlight. This will penetrate the soil quickly since it is in liquid form.

5. Droppings - specifically the ones made from chickens. This only really works if you live in a farm or somewhere where there are animals. This is the most common one but you can technically use droppings from other animals also. In order for droppings to work you do need to let it compost first in the ground for a few weeks, maybe even a few months since it can be damaging to the plants if used right away.

Some other quick ideas include keeping a can of compost inside your kitchen where you can throw in things like: egg shells, fruit peels, fruit remains, coffee grounds, etc. Then transport the compost to a larger compost bin outside your home. Compost bins usually have an opening at the bottom so you can access the fertilizer that is the oldest first.

To learn more about the technical aspect of eco-friendly fertilizer's visit this website for useful information

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A Fresh Layer of Mulch

Summer weather can be brutal on your garden. Your garden will need constant watering and cutting to maintain it nice and pretty during the summer season. New Earth offers a quick tip on how to lower the amount of time and maintenance that can be spent on your garden this season. 

Using a fresh layer of mulch can have many benefits: 

• Retains water so you won’t have to water your plants too often and will prevent them from drying out
• Acts as a way to prevent weed growth which can take valuable resources from your other plants
• Keeps roots cooler allowing them to absorb more moisture
• As it breaks down it can add useful nutrients to your garden space
• Protects your plants from all elements, so if seasons change drastically then you’ll have a smoother transition since they are not directly exposed to the elements

With all benefits come some disadvantages, the biggest one being that if you don’t know where you are getting your mulch from it can bring in unwanted pests or bacteria that may not naturally occur in the place where you live causing all sorts of you problems.

For a comprehensive list of the different types of mulch and more information about the benefits of mulch check out this great article 

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