CABOT — Most of us were taught to clean up gardens in the fall. Our parents, grandparents, and the neighbors who hired us as kids would tell us to cut everything to the ground, and rake out any remaining debris.
Lately, you may have seen articles saying the opposite: leave everything standing, don’t rake, and touch nothing until next spring. So what’s the right answer? As with most things, it isn’t straightforward “yes” or “no”, but rather “it depends”. Here are some basic guidelines to help guide your fall garden work.
Leave it: Mulch provides insulation for your plants over the winter, and helps reduce weed pressure in the spring. Perennials and spring bulbs will push right through; no need to do anything with it.
Echinacea blooms in Cabot in early September. These are a great perennial to leave standing over the winter. The seeds will feed birds and small mammals, and the stems can provide homes for stem-nesting bees.
Leave small or sparse leaves. The leaves of trees such as honey locust and pine can be left where they fall. Most of the leaves will decay, and those that don’t, aren’t large enough to smother emerging plants in spring. The same goes for a thin cover of larger leaves such as maple or beech. Leaving leaves adds nutrients to the soil, and provides overwintering habitat for insects and other arthropods which are critical to a healthy ecosystem.
Leave stems and leaves of healthy perennial plants: any plants that were in good condition during the growing season, and exhibited normal senescence (the regular yellowing and dying-off at the end of the season) can be left in place. There are three benefits to leaving perennials standing. First, the seeds make great winter bird food. Coneflower and black eyed susan are especially appreciated by birds. Second, the upright hollow stems provide space for native stem-nesting bees to overwinter. Third, the stems and foliage help protect the crown of the plant from winter damage, especially when we experience cold snaps with little or no snow cover.
Remove it: In late summer, do a thorough weeding to remove unwanted plants. Many plants that are not wanted in your garden may have taken up residence while you were busy canning tomatoes or going on summer trips. Plants such as dandelion, clover, and grasses will continue to grow roots through late fall and early spring, and be really difficult to remove next season. That said, don’t wait too long to do this last weeding. By October, perennial garden plants are settling in for a long winter, and will not appreciate having their roots disturbed by enthusiastic weeding. If you’ve waiting too long, just skip it. Better luck next year!
Remove vegetable plants: veggie plants are particularly susceptible to diseases and pests, so if you don’t have time to monitor every plant, play it safe and remove all plant material.
Remove asparagus fronds, if there are asparagus beetles If beetles trouble asparagus, cut the fronds to the ground and dispose of the plant material far from the asparagus patch. Asparagus beetles overwinter in the standing stems, so fall removal will reduce their hiding places.
Remove stems and leaves of obviously diseased or pest-infested perennials. If perennials were diseased, remove the plant material and dispose of it away from the gardens. Don’t compost these materials as backyard compost piles rarely heat up enough to kill off disease organisms. If the plants were troubled by insect pests, follow the same protocol, as some insect pests will overwinter in the dead plant material. Note that Japanese beetles overwinter in soil, not in plants.If plants were chewed by them this season (very likely), don’t cut those plants back.
Remove very thick leaf litter on early spring garden spaces. If the garden has lots of spring bulbs, or other spring ephemerals (trillium, hepatica, dutchman’s breeches for example), remove thick leaf litter. These delicate early-spring plants will have a hard time emerging through a thick layer of leathery oak leaves.
A thoughtful fall cleanup will give a clean and tidy garden, while providing food for birds, protection for perennial plants, and habitat for beneficial insects.
Enjoy these last warm weeks, and happy gardening.
Susan Socks, is also known as the Garden Goddess. For gardening help, visit SocksFamilyFarm.weebly.com or call (802) 498-7785.
