Whether your garden had a good year or not, it’s not too early to prepare for next season, said a University of Missouri Extension horticulture specialist.
“It’s not intuitive to think that the end of the season is when we should begin thinking about next year’s garden, but the payoff from fall planning and preparation is that it can make spring tasks much simpler,” said Marlin Bates.
When production from this year’s plants stops, remove unharvested vegetables and other decaying plant matter, which can harbor diseases and insect pests. Composting these materials is typically the best option, but in larger gardens it might be easier to incorporate them into the soil.
“By tilling in the crop residues, you can reduce overwintering disease inoculum and insect pest habitat almost as well as by removing them from the garden,” Bates said.
Fall is a good time to test the soil to make sure it has sufficient levels of organic matter and nutrients. Testing in the fall also gives you adequate time to adjust soil pH before planting next year’s garden.
Because the garden is free of vegetation, you might want to consider a winter cover crop, which can conserve soil and nutrients, contribute organic matter and disrupt repetitive vegetable cropping cycles, which helps to reduce pest populations. An alternative to cover crops is a two-inch thick layer of mulch or compost to help prevent erosion.
For more information on fall preparation of the vegetable garden or for specific recommendations on winter cover crops, contact your local MU Extension center or see tinyurl.com/MUExtGarden.