Fall Cleanup for Texas Landscapes and Gardens

Fall is a great time to work in the yard and garden in Texas. The heat of August and September kept many people indoors. But as temperatures moderate, there is an incentive to find excuses to be outside. In addition to other fall garden and landscaping activities, cleanup offers a justification to get outside. Cleaning up not only makes a gardener feel productive, it is important to the health and well-being of lawns and plants.

Cleaning Up the Yard

In most of Texas, leaves fall in the autumn and cover the grass. Some people work very hard to rake and bag all the leaves from their trees. However, using a mulching mower will clean up the leaves and create small bits of organic material that decompose into the soil.

Another option for leaves is to collect and shred them before putting them into the compost pile. In an active pile, the leaves mixed with green organic matter will be ready to place in the vegetable garden next spring. Leaves can also be collected in fenced bins for slower decomposition.

Pick up and store hoses and sprinklers.

According to the University of Arkansas Agricultural Extension report on Mowing Your Lawn, ‚”No special mowing practices are necessary in the fall. Do not raise or lower the mowing height. Mow until the first frost on warm-season grasses, and on cool-season grasses (tall fescue) mow until turf growth ceases, sometime near Thanksgiving.” (Arkansas is close enough in climate to much of Texas, so their advice applies.)

Cleaning out and Preparing the Garden

Unless a vegetable garden is producing cold weather crops, clean out all the dead plant material from the soil. Healthy plant material can be placed in the compost pile. Any diseased plants should be separated, bagged, and sent to the landfill unless a gardener is sure that the compost pile is ‚”hot” ‚Äîat least 120¬∞.

Remove plant stakes and trellises and store them for next year. Turn the soil lightly, rake level, and add a layer of peat moss or compost. Make a note of where various crops were planted in the garden and use that information for the garden plan for next year. This is particularly important for vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant that require crop rotation.

Fall Care of Landscape Plants

After plants die back or become dormant (like roses) prune them back. Roses should be pruned with care. Nanette Londeree of the Marin Rose Society offers good advice about how to prune roses based on years of experience and lessons learned. Other landscape perennials can be pruned to about 3″-4″ as desired.

Clean out annuals and either compost or dispose of plant materials. Pick up pots and store them for next year. Clay and plastic pots will deteriorate over the winter. Old soil from the planters and pots can be added to the compost pile. Add mulch around perennial plants, shrubs and trees.

When fall cleanup is completed, pat yourself on the back, put up your feet, and relax knowing that the garden, landscape and grass is ready to rest and will be healthy next spring.