Fall Foodscaping Checklist: Give Back & Grow Year-Round Abundance
Fall Foodscaping Checklist: Give Back & Grow Year-Round Abundance
As the vibrant colours of fall settle in, this season provides the perfect opportunity to give back—to your garden, to your community, and to set the stage for a year of abundance. By embracing thoughtful planning and regenerative practices now, you’re not only preparing for next season’s harvest but also contributing to a thriving, sustainable ecosystem. Use this checklist to ensure your garden remains productive year-round and improves with each passing year.
1. Reflect on This Year's Harvest
Evaluate your harvest: What grew well? What didn’t? What did you eat? What did you purchase? Take notes to refine your approach for next season.
Journal your garden’s progress: Record successes, pest problems, weather patterns, and key observations. This will guide your planning for future years.
Assess crop rotation needs: Consider what plants were in each area and plan rotations to avoid nutrient depletion and reduce pests. Crop rotation is key to long-term garden health.
Collect soil samples: Testing soil pH and nutrient levels in the fall will help you prepare your beds with amendments over winter, ensuring a balanced start in spring.
Need help reflecting on your garden’s successes and challenges? We offer personalized consultations to help you build on this year’s harvest, plan crop rotation, and optimize for next year’s abundance.
2. Gather and Use Resources for Future Abundance
Collect leaves and grass clippings: Chemical-free leaves, especially calcium-rich maple leaves, are perfect for mulching and improving soil health.
Start or expand your compost pile: Add garden waste, leaves, and kitchen scraps to create nutrient-rich compost. Don’t forget to turn it regularly!
Collect and store seeds in a cool, dry place: Clean and label seeds to ensure you have a ready supply for next season. Seed saving preserves plant diversity and local resilience.
Harvest herbs for winter: Dry or freeze herbs (in olive oil) like rosemary, sage, and thyme to enjoy year-round. You can also pot herbs and bring them indoors for continued growth.
Feeling overwhelmed by the fall tasks? Our team can help you gather the right resources and set up compost systems to create fertile, productive garden spaces.
3. Ecological Cleanup: Habitat and Soil Health
Leave space for beneficial wildlife: Don’t over-clean your garden—leave some stalks, seed heads, and leaf piles for pollinators and other beneficial insects to overwinter.
Prune dead or diseased plants: Remove unhealthy material to prevent pests and diseases from spreading next year.
Prepare cover crops: Plant cold-tolerant cover crops like crimson clover or rye to protect and enrich your soil over winter, preventing erosion and improving fertility. Seeding cover crops is best done in late summer, so set a reminder in your calendar for next year.
Create brush piles: Leave piles of twigs or branches to provide shelter for birds and insects over the winter, enriching your garden's ecosystem.
Let us support your garden’s health with our seasonal cleanups, designed to protect habitats and regenerate your soil, so your garden thrives next spring.
4. Build Soil Health for the Long Term
Sheet mulch to convert lawns into gardens: Use cardboard, compost, and mulch to create rich, weed-free garden beds that will be ready to plant by spring.
Apply compost tea or Effective Micro-organisms (EM): Boost beneficial microbial activity in the soil to enhance fertility.
Add lime to acidic soils: If your soil is too acidic, fall is the best time to add lime so it has time to adjust over winter, creating optimal conditions for spring planting.
Top dress beds with compost or well-rotted manure: Spread organic matter over your garden beds to feed soil organisms throughout the winter, preparing for a healthy growing season.
Interested in transforming your lawn into a productive garden or enriching your soil for long-term health? Our design and installation services can help you get started on the path to abundance.
5. Plant Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
Plant fruit trees, nut trees, and berry bushes: Fall is the best time for these plants to establish roots before winter.
Create tree guilds: Plant complementary species around your trees to create a self-sustaining ecosystem. Include nitrogen-fixers like sea buckthorn and insect-repelling herbs such as oregano and thyme.
Plant asparagus and rhubarb crowns: These edible perennials benefit from fall planting, allowing them to settle in and get a head start on growth next spring.
Add native shrubs for biodiversity: Planting native shrubs supports local wildlife and helps maintain a balanced ecosystem in your garden.
Looking to create an orchard or edible forest garden? We specialize in designing regenerative landscapes that nourish both you and your garden for years to come.
6. Refresh Pathways and Beds
Add woodchips to garden pathways: Refresh walkways with alder or fir woodchips. Consider inoculating them with winecap mushrooms to enjoy a tasty harvest while improving soil health.
Prepare new garden beds: Now is the perfect time to install new beds for perennials, herbs, or native plants.
Install raised beds or repair existing ones: Raised beds improve drainage and extend your growing season. Repair any existing structures now for a strong start in spring.
Edge garden beds: Keep pathways clear and define bed edges to make future maintenance easier and reduce weeds creeping into your growing areas.
We offer garden refreshes to help prepare your spaces for winter and ensure they are ready for a productive spring—let us help you create vibrant, healthy pathways and beds. If this is of interest, let’s chat!
7. Extend Your Growing Season
Plant overwinter veggie starts: It’s not too late to plant hardy crops like kale, spinach, garlic, and carrots that will overwinter and provide early spring harvests.
Use row covers or cold frames: Protect late-season crops and extend their growing period with simple row covers or mini-greenhouses.
Mulch overwinter crops: Cover cold-hardy crops with mulch to protect them from frost and keep the soil temperature more stable throughout winter.
Sow broad beans: Plant broad beans in the fall for an early spring harvest. They’re also excellent for fixing nitrogen in the soil over winter.
Looking to keep your garden producing through the colder months? We can help you extend your growing season with tailored solutions for your space.
8. Winterize Tools and Structures
Clean and sharpen tools: Give your gardening tools a thorough clean, sharpen blades, and oil any hinges or wooden handles to protect them over winter.
Store hoses and irrigation systems: Drain water from hoses and blow out irrigation systems to prevent freezing and damage.
Clean and organize the greenhouse: Wash the glass or plastic, clean up debris, and set up winter-ready structures inside to extend your growing season.
Protect fragile plants with burlap or frost blankets: Wrap tender perennials or young trees to shield them from freezing temperatures and strong winds.
Let us take care of the winterization tasks, ensuring your tools, structures, and plants are ready to face the winter and thrive next spring.
9. Plan for Next Year’s Garden
Set new goals: What do you want your garden to provide next year? More fruits, lower maintenance, or perhaps a beautiful space to gather with family and friends?
Start your garden design now: Begin designing garden layouts, planning crop rotations, or envisioning new edible landscaping projects for the coming year.
Order specialty seeds and plants: Be sure to order early to secure your top-choice varieties.
Review perennial options: Consider adding more edible perennials like artichokes, walking onions, and herbs to create a low-maintenance, high-reward garden.
Now is the perfect time to plan for your most abundant garden yet—our DIY Design & Care Guides can help bring your vision to life.
10. Make Time for Enjoyment and Education
Create outdoor spaces for winter: Add outdoor lighting, seating, or a fire pit to enjoy your garden even during colder months.
Take a workshop or class: Expand your gardening knowledge with workshops on permaculture, seed saving, or garden design.
Plan a food forest walk: Visit or tour a nearby food forest to gain inspiration for building layers of edible plants in your own garden.
Research and dream: Spend the quieter months deepening your understanding of soil health, plant guilds, and sustainable gardening practices.
Looking to deepen your knowledge and get inspired for the year ahead? Join us for a consultation, where we can discuss how to turn your garden into a thriving, sustainable edible ecosystem.
About our
DIY Designs & Care Guides
We love working with people who want to get their hands dirty.
We offer DIY Designs & Care Guides, so if you want to start or expand your food growing, you can do so with confidence, knowing our team will support you along the way.
Your DIY Design will come with step-by-step installation instructions, plus with a customized Care Guide, so you’ll know exactly how to care for your plants and garden each season.
Need some on-the-ground support?
If you’re located in the Greater Victoria area, our team can assist you with the heavy lifting, and we offer a full suite of landscaping services, from project management through installation and maintenance.
Are we a good fit?
For any project to be fruitful, shared vision and values, along with clear communication is essential. We stand behind our work in providing exceptional service and results, within our agreed upon budget and timeline. A great fit is very important to us, and we know it is for you too. We’d love to hear about your ideas and how we can help.
Curious if we can help?
Sincerely,
Joshua Clae Wagler
Creative Director
Edible Landscapes Design Ltd