Fall Checklist for Spring Flowers

The garden doesn't end after the frost.  In fact, the Spring garden is just ramping up.  And the work  you put into the garden now will determine your spring flower situation. 

Here's a checklist for things to do now so you can enjoy flowers when spring rolls around:

1. Prepare you beds.  If you want to plant things in very early spring or spring, preparing you garden beds for planting now is ideal. If we have a wet spring you will have to wait to plant.  But by preparing beds now you can just do it and not have to wait.  You can clear our old beds and leave a thick layer of mulch on top.  Leaves are a great free resource many people can have access to. If you'd like to use a winter cover crop, phacelia, winter wheat/rye, clover, and hairy vetch are great.  Use just one variety alone or mix it up for a diverse mix that will boost biodiversity and nutrients. 
2. Plant bulbs, corms, seedlings/seeds.  One of the best feelings when spring rolls around is seeing the things you planted pop up and bring green into your world again.  Fall is the best time to plant (depending on your growing zone) peonies, tulips, ranunculus, and a group of flowers that are known as cold season hardy annuals. 
3. Dig & Divide Dahlias. Once again totally dependent on where you live and if you even want to bother.  But for us, fall is the perfect time to dig and divide dahlia tubers.  If you want to increase your plants then this is the time to do that.  You can take one dahlia plant and get about 5 new tubers to plant for next year! 
4. Order Seeds.  Take inventory of the seeds you have and what you need to order for next season.  Many times if you want until the season of to order you might not be able to find the exact varieties you want to grow. Order your seeds early to make sure you get exactly what you want and however much you need. 
5. Soil Test.  After a long growing season, fall provides the perfect opportunity to test your soil.  A soil test lets you know exactly what nutrients you need to add. They even tell you if you need more organic matter.  You can find these test online.  My local extension offices provides them for free.  I can even head up there and borrow a soil probe to get a nice sample from deep in the ground.  Testing your soil will help you with the next step.
6. Add Amendments. Fall is the best time to add garden amendments.  it gives the amendments plenty of time to get incorporated and broken down into the soil and ready to use when spring rolls around. 

Taking care of these tasks now will set your garden up for success next season.  Fall can be a less busy time for many of us, plus the cooler temperatures make it easier to get some much needed work done in your garden.