As the temperatures drop and the nights draw in, many thoughts understandably turn to preparing the garden for winter. As the prospect of frost looms, those halcyon summer days in the garden feel far behind us. Before calling it a day, though, make sure these jobs have all been done before winter arrives.

A fully rounded fall gardening checklist should cover flower beds, vegetable gardens, lawns, containers, and equipment. It may sound like a lot, but clearing, preparing, moving, and protecting your plants keeps them healthy and avoids you suffering unnecessary winter losses or damage.

During my years as a professional horticulturist, I found fall to be one of the busiest seasons; there was so much to do ahead of winter. To help you build a list of fall gardening jobs, I’ve also chatted with experts to reveal six key pre-winter jobs they recommend. So, don’t put your garden to bed until you’ve done these tasks. A gardening journal (like this one on Amazon) is a perfect way to plan your seasonal jobs and assess your plants throughout the season.

1. Mulch Beds

For great soil health, a key fall gardening job is always mulching. After clearing flower beds or vegetable gardens, don’t just leave the soil bare. Exposed soil can lose nutrients and be eroded by heavy rains and strong winds.

Instead, give the soil a thick layer of organic mulch. You can use homemade or store-bought compost (such as this bag of organic compost on Amazon), leaf mold made in previous years, or fallen leaves you collect and spread to protect plants. There are lots of fall mulching materials you can get for free this way.

‘One thing gardeners should always do in the fall to prepare their soil for winter is mulching,’ says David McCary, owner at Seattle Sustainable Landscapes. ‘Mulch helps regulate soil temperatures and insulate the plant roots for winter.’

The mulch will enrich the soil nutrients as it breaks down. Simply lay it on the surface before the soil freezes and let nature do its work.

‘Add 1-3 inches on top,’ advises Donna Letier, co-founder and CEO of the gardening and well-being company Gardenuity. ‘This will help to winterize the soil and encourage worms and soil life to do the work for you.’

An alternative way to cover bare soil ahead of winter is to sow green manures. These fast-growing plants will cover bare soil, prevent erosion, block weeds, and return nutrients to the ground. You can find a range of cover crop seeds at True Leaf Market.

2. Move and Protect Pots

Freezing winter temperatures pose a real risk to plants in container gardens. There is not much insulation between the roots and the frost for container plants. This means that usually hardy plants can even be at risk of dying or rotting over winter.

So put some precautions in place beforehand to protect container plants from winter weather. That includes moving pots for winter.

‘Any pots that have perennial plants in them get placed up against my house during the winter (south-facing is best) since it is warmer close to the house,’ says Stacy Risenmay from Digz Gardening.

Moving pots together for winter creates a protected microclimate that traps heat and shelters them from cold winds. South-facing walls will absorb sun and warmth, even through winter, and release it slowly to help protect pots and planters from frost.

It is also advisable to clear drainage holes and raise the container onto pot feet to ensure that it drains properly over the winter and prevent the plant from rotting in waterlogged soil. You can get strong pot feet for containers on Amazon.

Tender plants in containers will need to be overwintered indoors; these are the first plants to protect ahead of the frosts.

‘Bring frost-sensitive plants into suitable shelter before temperatures fall below their tolerance, checking for pests first,’ adds Donna Letier. ‘A garage may suit some dormant hardy plants, while actively growing tropical plants need appropriate warmth and light.’

Tender or tropical plants can spend winter in a greenhouse, conservatory, sunroom, or in front of a bright window to grow indoors over the colder months. Any plants brought indoors can be treated with insecticidal soap, available at Walmart, to deal with pest issues.

3. Get Rid of All Diseased Material

For many people, fall is the time they choose to cut back perennials and tidy up flower beds and borders. However, others choose not to cut back many perennials in the fall, as plants can provide food and shelter for birds and insects in a successful wildlife garden.

Whether you clear or not, what is important is that any diseased plant material is removed before winter. Leaving it on the ground allows bacteria and fungi to overwinter, then return in spring to infect the new growth. Any leaves or stems showing signs of powdery mildew, rose black spot, blight, or other diseases should be removed.

You should bag this up and throw it away. Lindsey Chastain, homesteader and founder at The Waddle and Cluck, warns: ‘Anything that is diseased needs to be bagged and trashed instead of put in your compost because that diseased plant material will infiltrate your compost, and it won't be healthy.’

Any piles of old stems, debris, or rotting crops on borders or vegetable garden beds also need to be removed. These can harbor bacteria and fungi and also provide a place for slugs, snails, and other pests to overwinter. It will take just a few minutes to clear any dead material with a gardening hand rake, such as this hand rake on Amazon.

4. Dig up and Store Tender Bulbs

A crucial job to do before the first frosts is to lift your tender summer plants. By lifting and overwintering tender bulbs, you ensure they don’t succumb to cold or rot over the winter months, and they’ll be ready to put on another stunning summer performance next year.

Plants such as dahlias, canna lilies, caladiums, pineapple lily, calla lilies, and gladiolus are among the tender plants to overwinter in October, usually after the first light frost has hit the foliage. Cut back the old foliage and gently lift the bulbs or tubers from the soil with a gardening fork (available at Walmart).

The bulbs should be stored in a cool, dry place over winter, such as a frost-free garage or shed. Dry the bulbs after lifting them, brush off the excess soil, and then store them in crates, trays, or paper bags.

‘I recommend using milk crates with newspaper or paper bags between the layers, and don't let the bulbs touch,’ says Lindsey Chastain. ‘You want them to have really good airflow over the winter so they don't mold and are ready to plant next spring.’

Check the stored bulbs regularly over winter and remove any that show signs of rotting. This stops them from affecting the others.

5. Give the Lawn a Last Mow

Lawns tend to get most attention during the summer and are often left to their own devices for winter. Before putting your garden to bed for winter, it is often good practice to complete some fall lawn care tasks and give your lawn a final mow of the year.

Cool-season lawns continue growing until the temperatures consistently fall below 50°F. Monitor your local forecasts and don’t stop mowing the lawn for winter until the mercury reaches that level.

‘Grass doesn't stop growing just because it’s not hot out,’ says Allison Koenig from Tractor Supply. ‘Cooler fall temperatures are actually prime time for root growth, and a lawn with strong roots heading into winter is one that bounces back fast come spring.

‘Skip the fall work, and you're asking a weaker lawn to survive winter stress and then somehow green up on schedule.’

Fall lawn maintenance includes removing fallen leaves to stop them from smothering the grass, which can cause bare patches and fungal problems over winter.

If the weather is suitable, such as not frozen or waterlogged, you can also aerate the lawn (you can use a lawn aerator tool from Amazon) and overseed before the temperatures drop – you can plant cool-season grass seed up to four weeks before the first frost.

When it comes to mowing, don’t cut the grass short before winter. Aim for a height of 2.5 to 3 inches for the last few cuts, so longer grass blades can insulate the roots over the winter months.

6. Remember Tools and Equipment

It can be easy to just focus on your plants when putting your garden to bed for winter. Before stepping away and relaxing, thinking everything is done, take a moment to check your gardening tools and equipment.

Always store all garden tools over winter, including lawn mowers, grass trimmers, and any digging or pruning tools, rather than leaving them out to withstand the elements. A tool storage rack (like this multi-tool hanger at Lowe’s) is an efficient shed storage solution.

‘If you have an irrigation system, you should also do a winterization before the first freeze,’ says David McCary. ‘If there's any water left in your irrigation system, it can freeze, expand, and damage pipes, valves, and sprinkler heads. Doing a winterization before that happens helps prevent this damage.’

You want to winterize a sprinkler system a few weeks or more before the first frost is predicted for your area. This involves turning off, draining, and blowing out a sprinkler system to ensure no water remains over winter.

Lindsey Chastain adds that homeowners should also remember to protect faucets from freezing. ‘You want to check all of the exterior faucets that you use for gardening and make sure that they are either frost protection type or that they are covered,’ she says. ‘We actually do both. We still cover our frost protection faucets just in case.’

You can get a hard outdoor faucet cover at The Home Depot

What to Shop

You don’t put your garden to bed until you’ve done these tasks, but there are other important monthly jobs to consider. For example, there are opportunities to add to your garden in fall, and our guide to what to plant in October reveals some great perennials, shrubs, trees, bulbs, and crops you can plant this month.

If you love inspiring garden ideas, outdoor advice, and the latest news, why not sign up for our newsletter and get the latest features delivered straight to your inbox?