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How to Prepare Your Raised Planter Beds For Fall Gardening

How to Guides

Introduction

Fall is an exciting time, and preparing your garden for fall can both dramatically enhance its visual appeal and also lay the groundwork for healthy growth in the months ahead. Whether you’re picking up nursery plants for seasonal color or replanting your fall veggie garden with seeds you started indoors yourself, this is the moment to get all your seasonal planning in order.

Are you reworking your garden beds for a fresh fall look, or are you planning to take advantage of our long California summers to squeeze in another crop of veggies before the cold season sets in? In this guide, we’ll cover both approaches and make sure your autumn plantings are set for success.

Pro Tip:

Fall is the best time to top-dress planting beds with compost—microbial activity is still active, and winter rains will help carry nutrients into the root zone with minimal effort.

Why Prepare Your Garden for Fall?

In California we are blessed with a long warm growing season, and can harvest a generous fall crop. It’s also a great time to establish ornamental plants and set up for winter and spring gardens. A well-timed refresh by cleaning up, pruning, and overall maintenance before going into winter months will also set your garden up for success once spring arrives anew.

Photo Credit: Urban Farmer (ufseeds.com)

Useful Tools and Materials

Tools

Having the right tools can make all the difference when preparing your garden for fall. For pruning woody plants or trees, high-quality bypass pruners and loppers are essential. For finer work or tight spaces, the DeWit Garden Knife is perfect for precision cuts, crown thinning, or cleaning up small stems where pruners may be too bulky. When it comes to soil aeration in containers a hand rake tool such as the DeWit Cultivator Bio Rake is a must, as it loosens the soil without breaking up its structure or disrupting beneficial fungi. Lyngso offers a wide range of tools with the DeWit Collection.

Soil Amendments

Depending on your soil, a few key amendments can make a big difference. Start with high-quality compost to build up both the biology and structure of your soil, while adding rich organic material to feed your plants during the growing season.

For planting, mycorrhizal inoculants are especially useful for helping roots establish stronger and deeper root systems, creating more drought-resilient plants in the dry fall. Biochar can help hold nutrients and moisture, while worm castings can give plants a microbial boost when layered near the root zone. A deep mulch is a must, to protect the soil surface from the sun’s heat and also to help your soil retain as much moisture as possible.

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How to Prepare Your Bay Area Garden Beds for Fall Step by Step

Step 1: Assessment and Planning

Time to make some goals and figure out exactly what you’d like to accomplish this fall. Are these beds functional or ornamental? Are you seeding directly or transplanting seedlings? It’s also important to take note of any plants that struggled last season and identify areas where you might swap them around or replace them for better results.

Step 2: Fall Cleanup and Pruning

Now is the time to focus on cleaning your beds. Areas where you are introducing new plants you may need to clear entirely, but consider leaving the roots behind and some biomass in your beds to provide food for your beneficials and continue supporting good soil health.

Some vegetables from summer gardens will continue to produce into the fall months, however pruning them back will strengthen the remaining plant and promote new growth.

If space allows, keep a low brush pile tucked into a corner of the garden to shelter beetles, spiders, and other beneficials that contribute to pest control through the fall and winter.

Step 3: Preparing the Soil for Fall Planting

Lyngso recommends you top dress your beds with a 2-inch layer of compost to enrich soil and support microbial life. This can also be gently worked into your bare soil before planting new areas, so it’s more immediately available to the roots.

Apply mycorrhizal inoculant directly to planting holes or root zones to help new transplants establish strong, drought-resilient root systems before winter sets in.

Step 4: Plant!

Take advantage of the lingering soil warmth early in fall to germinate seeds and also get new plants established in your beds.

Fall is the ideal time to plant California natives. Cooler weather and early rains give roots time to establish before the stress of summer heat, helping plants thrive with less water and maintenance.

Mulching is the final step; allow for a 2”-3” layer of mulch to help insulate your plants. This will both help conserve water in the hotter months, and the colder months they will help retain warmth in the soil as well.

Final Thoughts

A well-prepared garden is better equipped to handle fall weather, while also reducing maintenance and conserving resources throughout fall’s cooler season. At Lyngso, we provide everything you need to prepare your garden for fall, from specialized soil amendments to high-quality tools, and more. Visit our showroom and landscaping yard in San Carlos for expert advice and inspiration and contact us today to learn about delivery options for your SF Bay Area home.

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