By Boulder County Farmers Markets

It’s that time of year, when there are more leaves on the ground than on the trees and the cold mornings and evenings remind us that winter is on its way. Along with pulling out those sweaters and knit caps, it’s a good time to start thinking about putting gardens to bed for the year and doing some prep so things are ready for successful spring gardening.

A great place to start is by removing any dead or diseased plants. For perennials, most plants can be cut back in the fall to get rid of excessive foliage that has turned brown after a hard frost. Removing dying foliage keeps the garden tidy and prevents pests and disease from overwintering in the foliage.

However, some perennials are better left up over the winter and thrive with a spring pruning. These include butterfly bushes, ferns and mums. You can also leave things up like black-eyed Susans, coneflower and sedum. They add a nice ornamental look to the gardens, and their seeds provide food for birds.

If you planted a vegetable garden, things like tomatoes, peppers and squash can be pulled up and composted, since they don’t survive hard frosts and are considered annuals, meaning you have to replant them each year. If anything shows signs of disease, it’s better to put it in the trash than to compost it to keep from potentially spreading the disease further.

Other things, like beets and carrots, will actually get sweeter with a frost, so you can still harvest them a few weeks after the first fall frost. Some greens, like kale and spinach, also tend to last through the first frost. And some herbs, like sage, thyme and mint, can overwinter and may come back in the spring.

Along with cutting things back, another fall gardening step is to think about dividing and transplanting perennial bulbs and tubers that have outgrown their space. Things like irises and lilies usually need to be divided and transplanted every 3-4 years to keep them healthy and blooming seasonally. It’s also a good time to think about planting other bulbs, like tulips, hyacinths and daffodils, that need to be planted in the fall, for spring blooming schedules.

Even though the plants get most of the attention in the garden, it’s important to give the soil some love too. Fall is an excellent time to amend your soil, which will improve overall soil composition and fertility for spring gardening. You can test your soil for proper pH and nutrients by buying an at-home test kit from a local hardware or garden supply store. You can also find soil amendment and compost products at gardening centers to get the proper mix of nutrients to meet your garden’s needs.

One of the final steps in putting gardens to bed for the winter is to add a layer of mulch, such as wood chips, straw or shredded leaves. Mulching helps to insulate the roots of the plants, retain moisture and suppress weed growth. Using shredded leaves is also a great way to repurpose some of those leaves you’ve raked up around your yard. One note on that, though, is that trees like oaks and cottonwoods have high levels of tannins in their leaves, so they tend to break down very slowly and are not the best leaves for mulching or composting.

Fall gardening is a great way to take note of where things are at now, enjoy the beauty of the season and plan for things to come. However you decide to put your gardens to bed for the winter, your efforts will be rewarded with a healthier, more vibrant garden next spring.