 Fall that wonderfully cool time of year that signals the end of summer's heat and summers work in the garden. The fall is actually a very simple time in the garden with only two tasks left to accomplish, the removal of the last of the year's produce and the prepping of the protective cover of mulch that will enhance your garden's soil over the winter.
The most important thing you can do for your garden is the removal of anything that might contain any diseases like powdery mildew or wilts that could overwinter till next spring. If you don't have any issues like that than you can just go ahead and lay down the leftover stalks and stems from your plants right in the bed. Leaving as much as possible in the garden is important in maintaining soil fertility and health as everything you grow removes necessary nutrients from the soil. This can also be a good time to add residues, manures or other fertility adding materials to the garden. One thing that I am going to try this fall is the addition of coffee grounds straight onto the garden beds. I know they make a great addition to my compost bins and they promote high heat active composting. The same principle could maybe apply right in my beds and work for me all winter in enhancing the soil for next spring. Once that is done the best thing you can do is leave the garden alone till spring rolls around again. Everything even soil needs a rest period and winter is that time for your garden so let it rest by giving it some "food" and leaving it alone.
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A truly successful gardener will not only know how to make compost and grow plants but they will also be very familiar with the properties of their soils as well. The knowledge of soil pH, salinity and other factors are very important in determining what can grow where in your garden. To that end you should know how to test soil salinity in your garden soils. Testing salinity is easy enough to do if you have the right tools like a soil meter capable of measuring electrical conductivity. They are easy enough to find can be found on Amazon for around 20 dollars.
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