by Ron Kujawski

* Don't bag those leaves! Rake them, chop them (run over them with your lawn mower) and return the chopped leaves as a mulch around the trees and shrubs from whence they came. In this way you are recycling valuable plant nutrients and improving the structure of the soil. By placing leaf mulch around trees and shrubs, there should be no need, in most cases, to apply fertilizers to those plants.  Leaves are an especially good source of potassium.

* Gather ye nuts! The hickory nut which fell on my head the other day as I was planting bulbs reminded me that this is the time of year to trek the back roads and gather hickory nuts, butternuts, and walnuts. Actually, it was after the sixth nut hit me on the head that the thought sank in. Duh!

* Cover loosehead and butterhead types of lettuce with row covers, newspaper or a light layer of straw, and you should be able to extend the harvest season for another few weeks.

* Use a combination of one part each of peat moss, sand and commercial potting soil as a mix for forcing spring flowering bulbs. Unless they've been pre-chilled, most bulbs will require about eight to 12 weeks of cold before they'll bloom indoors.

* Plant snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) in random groups of three to five bulbs in a shrub border or woodland area. A few clumps of winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) worked in among the snowdrops enhance an already exciting show.

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Some people build houses, others build ships, but I like to build soil. (It reminds me of sandbox, my all-time favorite subject in my academic career.) The soil has just enough moisture in it now to make it workable, yet it is not too wet.  

The key to building soil is the incorporation of organic matter. There are a lot of choices for organic matter — rotted manure and compost being my favorites. A generous layer (4-6 inches) of the organic stuff is spread over the surface of the soil along with limestone and turned deeply into the soil. For small gardens or flower beds, a spading fork is best for this job. It is more demanding than running a rototiller through the garden, but I can dig more deeply with a spading fork. Deep soil preparation is one of the secrets to successful gardening, but let's just keep that between you and me. Ideally, the soil should be worked to a depth of about 12 inches. That is enough depth to accommodate good root growth for just about all plants. So, if you're invigorated by the cool air of fall, build something — build some soil.

Ron Kujawski began gardening at an early age on his family's onion farm in upstate New York. Although now retired, he spent most of his career teaching at the UMass Extension Service. He serves on Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Horticulture Advisory Committee. His book, Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, is available here.