Preparing Your Garden for Fall: 5 Chores to Do in August

Summer is winding down, but a gardener’s work is never done. Fall is approaching and there are a few things you need to do to prepare your garden for its arrival. Here are five things to do in August.

Featured photograph (above) by John Merkl, from Gardening 101: How to Prune Roses.

1. Clean up the dead and diseased.

Are your tomatoes petering out? Did blight got the better of them? Has your basil flowered? Do your roses have black spot? Time to remove either the whole plant, as in tomatoes and spent annuals, or just the diseased parts, as in roses. It is very important to remove all diseased plant material and throw it out in the trash. Composting is not recommended unless you are sure that the pathogen can be killed by a properly maintained compost pile. Removing plants also opens up space for fall crops and flowers.

2. Plan for next year’s garden.

Now is the time to order tulips, daffodils, and other spring-flowering bulbs. Spend time looking at those catalogs and pick out some fun blooms for next year. You could wait another month or two to order, but why risk your first choices selling out?

3. Plant a cover crop.