If you turn over a garden bed in the fall, you can expect a bountiful vegetable harvest the next year.
This soil prep, combined with adding organic fertilizer, helps the soil retain moisture. The fertilizer breaks down into nutrients that plants can easily absorb. This kind of bed may not need to be tilled again in spring, but in flood-prone or clay soils, spring tilling is still essential.
Prepare beds for carrots, garlic, onions, and parsley — it’s almost time to sow.
Winter is just around the corner, and frosts aren’t far behind. Protect plants that need winter covering, especially grapevines. Some grape varieties don’t require covering, but the best varieties for Ukrainian conditions usually do. Remove the canes from their supports and prune heavily, cutting back many fruiting canes but leaving 3–4 spare canes per bush. Then bend the canes down and cover them securely with soil.
Turn your attention to flower beds. Dig up gladiolus and canna bulbs in dry weather. Use a fork rather than a spade to avoid damaging bulbs and rhizomes. Dry them in the shade before putting them into storage.
When stable cold arrives, bend and pin rose bushes to the ground. Cover them with soil or peat mixed with sand, then pile fallen leaves on top.
Remove clematis, tecoma, and honeysuckle vines from their supports, coil them into rings, and pin them to the ground. Cover the base of the plants with peat or sand, and lay thin branches and fallen leaves over the vines.
Now that you’ve tackled these urgent tasks, you can relax and wait for spring.
