Fall Cleanups: Why They’re More Important Than You Think
Many people expect fall cleanups to be a quick and easy task–and it can be if you do it correctly. But what people don’t realize is that sometimes, there are more moving parts involved in a proper fall cleanup than originally thought. This is because, when you do it correctly, fall cleanups yield lots of benefits for your landscape. Let’s dive in. The Importance of a Fall Cleanup
Preparing for Winter Though it’s called a “fall cleanup,” you’re really getting your space ready for winter. This means lots of protective and preventive measures are about to be put in place so that your lawn and gardens can survive the winter weather. Initially, people think about removing and composting leaves and maybe doing one last good mow, but there’s more to it. Check out the checklist below. Benefits for Plant Health and Spring Growth When you prepare for the winter correctly, you’ll reap the benefits in the spring. Fall cleanups help keep debris from smothering your grass, prevent water evaporation so that your lawn can stay hydrated through the winter, and prevent soil contamination. You’ll learn how in the section below. 
What You Can Expect From a Fall Cleanup
- Raking Leaves and Removing Debris: This is the most common aspect of fall cleanup, and it is fairly self-explanatory, but you don’t want to skimp out on it!
- Clearing Garden Beds and Borders: This fall cleanup aspect is similar to the one above, but it’s important to remember that your garden beds and borders can become just as suffocated by debris as your lawn can, so you don’t want to skimp out on this either.
- One Last Mow: There’s something ceremonial about one last mow, but it’s also extremely beneficial for spring grass growth. Cutting the grass allows it to aerate and encourages strong root growth for the spring.
- Cutting Back Perennials: Certain perennials require spring pruning instead of autumn pruning, but for the perennials that should be pruned in the fall, cutting them back at this time ensures that they won’t succumb to pests or disease during the winter. You also don’t want old foliage and dying stems to become susceptible to rot.
- Wrapping Shrubs: Wrapping your shrubs has tons of benefits: moisture retention, protection from harsh weather, dissuading wildlife from eating them, reduces salt damage, and allows air to circulate freely around the shrub.
- Composting Fall Leaves: While composting your fall leaves isn’t entirely necessary, it can save you money on plant food later. It’s just a greener way to recycle your materials and improve soil health, and it also provides these landscaping benefits: it prevents grass damage, reduces yard waste, applies essential trace minerals to your soil, maintains moisture retention, prevents plant disease, and filters harmful pests.
- Clearing Gutters: You want to ensure your gutters are clear of clogs and other obstructions like fall leaves because snow and ice buildup can lead to snow and ice build-up, and eventually water damage, roof and foundation damage, or sagging gutters.
- Draining, Cleaning, and Protecting Water Elements: Because the aquatic landscaping elements in your yard are connected to pipes and wires, significant damage can occur if the water is left on in the winter, such as frozen pipes, bursting pipes, landscape damage, and damage to the fixtures themselves.
- Cleaning, Storing, and Covering Outdoor Patio Furniture: Whether you’re storing your furniture in a different location to protect it from the winter elements or you’re sealing/covering it, it makes your life easier in the spring if you cleaned it in the fall. The last thing you want is mold buildup on your expensive furniture.
- Pruning Dead or Diseased Branches: This may not need to be done every year–you may treat your plants so well that they end the season fully healthy! But it’s important to at least inspect your plants every year to make sure.
- Aeration: Fall aeration is an unexpected task to most people, because normally fall cleanups mean we’re not encouraging any more growth. But for grass, when the soil is warm, and the air is cold, the roots actually grow faster. Fall aeration improves root structure, encourages root growth, helps grass resist stressors like heat, drought, disease, or insects, reduces water runoff, and loosens compacted soil.
- Overseeding: Overseeding is a great fall cleanup task for similar reasons to aeration. Fall overseeding is so successful because weeds don’t germinate in the fall, but the grass will. There is more rainfall in autumn, soil temperature and moisture levels in autumn yield optimal seed germination, and cooler temperatures reduce pest and fungus growth.
- Mulching: Mulching can (and should) be done in both the spring and the fall. The reasons you should also mulch in the fall are because it will protect your plants from winter temperatures and frost while also retaining moisture. Additionally, fall mulching also insulates the soil, helps bulbs and plant roots cope with temperature changes, enriches the soil and prevents it from eroding, and it creates a warmer environment for microbes and worms.
- Planting Spring Bulbs: There are many spring bulbs that need to be planted in the fall because they bloom so early in spring. They require an extended period of cold temperatures to ignite the biochemical process that produces their flowers.