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garden projects for next season

11 Garden Projects to Prepare for Next Season

in Fall Garden· Garden Planning· Gardening Tips & How-to's· In the Garden· The Beginner's Garden Podcast· Vegetables

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Looking for garden projects to do during the slower time of the gardening season? I get so excited about next season’s garden in the fall and winter. There is so much to learn and so many ways to think and prepare for next growing season.

In this episode of the Beginner’s Garden Podcast, I talk about 11 garden projects — several DIY! — you can do in the off-season. Click to listen or continue reading below.

garden projects for next season

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Why Fall and Winter are Perfect for Garden Projects

When we think about gardening, we usually think of the spring. Most people tackle garden projects in the spring because of the excitement the spring garden brings, but there is great benefit to working on some of them now.

  • You have more time, with fewer garden upkeep tasks.
  • In most places, we have nicer weather and it’s a way to enjoy the outdoors.
  • You’re in less of a rush than in the spring.
  • It’s budget-friendly because you have fewer gardening costs in the fall, which spreads out the investment of gardening.
  • It combats the end-of-summer blues because it gives you something to look forward to!

Have I convinced you yet? Maybe you already know which garden projects you want to start because you’ve been putting them off all season. But if not, let these ideas get your mind going.

11 tasks that you can do this fall and winter to get ready for next year’s spring garden:

Raised Beds

The biggest drawback to raised beds is the cost, but I’ve been able to slowly add one or two at a time over the years so it’s not such an expense at one time. The fall is a great time to be able to build and prepare new raised beds.

raised bed top view

Here’s another benefit to adding raised garden beds in the off-season: If you prepare the bed in the fall, you have more options of organic material that you can add to your soil. Before adding any soil, you can add weeds that haven’t yet gone to seed or uncomposted compost. These raw materials have time to break down over the winter and supply nutrients for your crops.

You can read more about raised bed gardening mistakes, transitioning to raised beds, or raised bed soil options in these earlier posts. And if you want a step-by-step tutorial on a DIY raised bed, check out this option for building your own raised bed using an old fence.

Vertical Gardening Trellis

Trellises are great garden projects to start in the fall. You have plenty of time so there’s no rushing or cutting corners. And since most trellises will last you many seasons, you want to take your time. Here some ideas:

A-frame trellis

My A-frame trellis has made it through 6 seasons so far and is by far the favorite structure in my garden. I mostly grow pole beans on it, but as with any vertical structure, you could grow other crops as well. Get my free A-frame trellis plans here: how to build an a-frame trellis.

red noodle asparagus beans on aframe trellis

Arch trellis

Second to my A-frame trellis, I love my arch trellises. I use them for cucumbers, grapes, pumpkins, and pole beans. These are especially beautiful and space-saving when you stretch them from one raised bed to another.

small arch trellis between raised beds
cattle panel arch trellis with t-posts

Tomato cages

Fall is also a good time to build your heavy-duty tomato cages. You can read how I built heavy-duty tomato cages out of concrete reinforcing wire here.

tomato cages for a better harvest

If you want a more attractive look with an option for easy storage over the winter, check out Joe Lamp’l’s welded wire cages.

Related: Is it better to cage or stake tomatoes?

Compost bin

You may already have a compost bin, but if you don’t or if you’re ready to make a change in your system, the off-season is the perfect time to make any changes. Need inspiration? These compost bin ideas can get your mind dreaming about options that would work best in your garden.

compost bin garden project

Build a compost sifter

One thing I’ve noticed when I get ready to use my compost, is the bigger chunks that remain even if it is well composted. Especially if I’m using compost and plan to plant seeds soon after, I want a fine tilth that won’t interfere with my young plants. Essentially a wooden frame with a screen, a compost sifter can help separate those larger chunks from the finer compost I’m needing. Here is an excellent tutorial on how to build a compost sifter.

Vermicomposting

Have you ever wanted to try worm composting? I talked to Emily Louba, the Crazy Worm Lady, last year and she shared how to get started with vermicomposting. I’m realizing more and more how worm castings would benefit my organic my garden as well as helping with pest control. Starting a vermicomposting bin inside would be a great project for the winter.

Prepare your in-ground garden bed

If you want to start a new garden in the ground, you could try to wait for spring and till it up. But, there are some risks you take when you wait for the spring. If the soil is too wet, you have to wait longer than you’d prefer to get your ideal crops in the ground. If you don’t want to take that risk, or if you’re like me and prefer not to till your soil, I recommend starting to prepare your new garden plot in the fall.

The fall before my first garden, I placed layers of newspaper and wood chips over the grass to smother the weeds and prepare the ground for the next year. I still do this in areas I need to clear the weeds and prepare the soil.

Secure natural sources of mulch

Mulch provides so many benefits to your garden. If you obtain your mulch in the fall, it will be ready when you need it in the spring. I prefer wood chips, which I either source from my local lumber mill or have delivered from a local tree service. Because our property is full of pine trees, I rake up fallen pine needles to place on garden pathways. If you have deciduous trees, collect fallen leaves to have ready to add to the garden in the spring. Chopping them up before bagging, using a lawnmower, will make them easier to apply in the spring.

wood chip mulch for garden

Cold frames or floating row covers

Fall is the perfect time of year to explore extending your growing season with cold frames or floating row covers.

I built floating row covers last year as a fall project. I used them to protect my fall crops from the cold, and I used them again in the spring to protect my crops from cold snaps. They were also helpful to protect my brassicas from cabbage worms.

Floating row covers on raised beds
I built this floating row cover using this tutorial from The Seasonal Homestead.

Experimenting and building these in the fall was perfect because I had the time. If I had waited until the spring, I would have rushed and cut corners in some other areas.

I haven’t tried cold frames because my growing season is so long, but you might find them helpful to extend your season into the winter and to get an early start in the spring. Learn how to garden with a cold frame here.

Grow lights + Indoor Seed Starting Setup

Fall is a great time to start or make changes to your seed starting setup. Maybe you could look into purchasing your first grow lights or expanding on what you already have. Again, it is much better to set this up now rather than waiting for the last minute.

Grow lights and indoor seed starting setup
Click here to check the price on the grow light in the above photo.
Mine is 4-feet with 4 tubes, but you can choose different length and bulb options.

Tip: Keep your eye out for Black Friday deals. I purchased my grow light for almost half of its regular price this way. Each year I let my email subscribers know of any great Black Friday and Prime Day deals. Click here to sign up.

Potting bench

This may be a little more difficult, but if you have a DIY-er in your family, a potting bench is a great garden project to build in the fall. I love having a potting bench under my patio to transplant seedlings and house some of my garden tools.

potting bench garden project
Note: I never use synthetic fertilizer (as pictured) in my vegetable garden. These rarely get used and only for potted flowers on occasion.

Chicken coop

If you ever plan on having chickens, now is a great time to build their coop. You usually want to buy chicks in the early spring as it is getting warm. When they’re ready to go outside, you will want to have their home ready for them.

chicken coop

Garden Projects for Fall and Winter

These 11 projects to work on now for next season will help prepare you for the best start in the spring. Keep working for your garden while the tasks in your garden are lighter.

Which of these projects would you like to try? Can you think of any to add to my list?

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Filed Under: Fall Garden, Garden Planning, Gardening Tips & How-to's, In the Garden, The Beginner's Garden Podcast, Vegetables

Previous Post: « How to Grow Food Indoors in the Winter
Next Post: What Beginning Gardeners Wish They Had Known Before They Started Their First Garden »

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Comments

  1. Terry Jarrard Jr says

    October 11, 2019 at 7:12 am

    I’m planning on building a greenhouse (non-heated) this Fall, and will probably move my compost bin as well as my 4 raised beds this Fall.

    Reply
    • Jill says

      October 11, 2019 at 7:57 am

      That sounds so fun! I’d love to have a greenhouse! Raised beds aren’t easy to move but I’ve done it successfully; you just have to be very gentle. 🙂

      Reply

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Instagram post 2191116923062830272_4245469154 I had such high hopes for my fall broccoli but it looks like it’ll end up a bust. 😥 The plants grew more rapidly than ever but because of the long, hot fall we had, they didn’t start forming heads when they should have. Then we got an abnormal cold snap with two 19* nights just as the heads started to emerge. The damage was pretty bad and it took a few weeks to recover. But now that the heads are showing promise, we’ve dropped under 10 hours of daylight, which means vegetable growth pretty much stops. I guess time will tell if temps stay mild enough for the plants to hang in there until the days start lengthening, but I’m doubtful. Oh well, you can’t control nature. There’s always next fall. Have you had a fall garden crop bust this year?
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#fallbroccoli #broccoli #fallgarden #gardenfail #backyardgarden #mygarden #garden2019 #mothernaturehasthefinalword
Instagram post 2184470474493519477_4245469154 I’ve never been able to use fallen leaves 🍁 as mulch for my garden because my property doesn’t have deciduous trees. 🌲 But this year I decided to get creative and “harvest” leaves from on our rural road. Living on a dead end has its perks. 😀 .
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Question... for now I’ve bagged the leaves. What’s the best way to get them ready to use for next season?
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#leavesascompost #leavesasmulch #fallenleaves #leafmulch #leafmulching #fallgarden #backyardgarden #frugalgardening
Instagram post 2179485779548631594_4245469154 I still have far to go in learning how to extend my garden season, but I’ve had so much fun this year growing and harvesting new crops when most areas of my garden are bare. In the basket: parsley, radishes, beet greens, mustard greens, and arugula. Though the harvest is small, it’s incredibly rewarding to harvest anything in November! .
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#fallgarden #wintergarden #coolseasoncrops #coolweathercrops #arkansasgarden #zone7b
Instagram post 2178013588969557324_4245469154 What can you be doing in the off-season to prepare your garden for next year? Check out this podcast episode for some things I’m doing in my garden and get some ideas for your own! Listen on your favorite podcast player or in the link in my bio. What do you like to do for your garden in the off-season?
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#podcast #gardeningpodcast #gardenpodcast #beginnersgarden #beginninggardener #gardentasks
Instagram post 2175916357017811195_4245469154 Can you guess what this is? It’s parsley! I’ve never seen a parsley root expand so large and pop out of the ground like this. Nature always surprises me! This year I’ve had a huge harvest of parsley. I planted it in a raised bed instead of in containers, and it didn’t bolt in the heat. It kept producing all through the hot summer and now into the cold. And I have plenty of dried parsley to last me a very long time. 🤗
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#parsley #homegrownherbs #natureisamazing #herbs #herbgardening #gardening #backyardgarden #backyardgardening #instagarden #raisedbed #raisedbeds #raisedbedgarden #raisedbedgardening #backyardgardener #homegarden #homegardener #arkansasgarden #arkansasgardener #zone7 #growyourown #mygarden #instagardener #beginnersgarden #gardentips #gardentip #howtogrow #gardenadvice #vegetablegardening #grow
Instagram post 2175050573727016714_4245469154 My first time growing French breakfast radishes, and I love them! I’m generally not a huge radish fan, but these have a mild flavor that I really enjoy. Plus, whenever you harvest anything in the late fall and early spring (when few other garden plants are producing), it’s extra sweet. They may have grown larger but with a cold snap coming I didn’t want to take any chances. I’ll definitely be growing these again in the spring! .
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Do you have a favorite radish? .
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(If you’re interested in growing these, I got them from @calikim29 ‘s fall seed collection — check it out!)
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