9 Garden Tasks You Still Can Tackle Right After a Frost

The impending arrival of the first frosts kicks off a flurry of activity in the garden, and it can get hectic—picking the last tomatoes, cutting the final bouquets of the season, bringing in hoses, and draining water features.

Fortunately, there's usually plenty of pleasant autumn days after the first frost to tackle the remaining fall gardening tasks at a more leisurely rate. As long as you're done before the ground freezes, you can complete these tasks after the first fall frosts.

Mulching Perennials

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Many perennials benefit from a nice blanket of mulch to help them stay toasty over the winter. In areas with heavy winter snowpacks, the snow acts as a great insulator, protecting the underground portions of the plant. But in years with little or no snowfall or in areas with chilly winters yet without a good layer of snow, mulch is important. Plants that are grown in the lower end of their hardiness zones especially benefit from a thick winter blanket of mulch.

How much mulch should you apply? A 4-inch layer is a good starting point. Remember not to pile it up like a pyramid around the trunk of trees (this is also known as a mulch volcano). The mulch should never touch trunks or stems where they emerge from the ground. A stray piece of straw is up against woody parts is okay, but you don't want a 6-inch deep pile of mulch in direct contact with the bark.

Cut Back and Dig Dahlias, Cannas, and Other Perennials

Credit: Blaine Moats

In areas with freezing winter temperatures, dahlias, cannas, and other tender perennials need to be dug up and stored indoors to be replanted outdoors in spring.

After frost has killed the aboveground vegetation, cut back cannas and dahlias and dig them. Trim the dead parts, shake the soil off, and store them in a cool, dark location where they are protected from the cold. The ideal storage temperature varies depending on the plant, so you might not want to store them all in the same place. Don’t forget to label them, especially if you have different varieties.

Install Winter Protection

Credit:

Peter Krumhardt

In autumn, deer, rabbits, and other wildlife have plenty to eat, but that will soon change. When it does, they'll come looking for the bark on your young ornamental and fruit trees and shrubs.

To protect your tender young woody plants and trees, use a wire cage, DIY wire cloche, or a hard (chew-proof) plastic wrap meant for wrapping around the trunk. Bury the edge of a wire cage a couple of inches below the soil, which is much easier to do before the ground freezes. Regardless of the method you use, now is the time to get those protective covers and cages in place before hungry wildlife does irreparable damage.

Gather up Pumpkins and Winter Squash

Credit: Cameron Sadeghpour

If you didn't grab all your pumpkins and winter squash before the first frost, that's fine. A light frost won't hurt them, although it will kill the vines. But now that the vines are dead, don't delay harvesting. Although pumpkins that have started to turn color can ripen off the vine, leaving them in the garden exposes them to slugs, rot, or damage from a hard freeze.

Snip them off the now dead stems and set them in a warm, dry place to cure. After a few days, store them for winter or display your pumpkins for autumn decorations. Remember, a hard freeze will still damage them, turning them mushy and off-colored.

Set up a Cold Frame

Credit: Jason Donnelly

Cold frames are a proven way to extend your fall growing season. They trap heat inside, allow light to reach plants, and basically act like a mini greenhouse. If you didn’t get one set up before the frosts, there is still time now.

Cold frames can be located near the house, or built right around existing kale, spinach, or lettuce plants in the garden. Many kits are available if you aren't feeling the DIY bug. The ideal site for a cold frame is facing south, in a sunny location. Cold frames are also useful in the spring to get a few plants going early, or to start seedlings in pots outdoors.

Plant Garlic

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Garlic is best planted in the fall, but don't get in a rush to do it. While garlic does need a period of cold to produce bulbs in spring, if you plant it too early, it may sprout. The goal is to have just enough time for new root growth to begin, but not enough for green shoots to break through the ground.

After the first fall frost, a couple of weeks of warm weather are common in many locations. Wait to plant your garlic until temperatures are consistently cooler, with daytime highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s. Ideally, garlic should go in the ground about four weeks before your soil freezes (a date that most gardeners don't track).

Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Credit: Jacob Fox

Just like garlic, spring flowers like tulips, daffodils, and snowdrops need to be planted in the fall to bloom. As autumn air and soil temperatures cool, perennial plants naturally shift their focus from above-ground to root growth. That's exactly the time to plant these bulbs. They also need a period of cold temperatures, called vernalization, to activate their blooming process in the spring. If you plant these bulbs in spring, they'll pop up and produce vegetative growth, but rarely bloom.

Spring-flowering bulbs should be planted after your first frost. Once cool weather has arrived to stay, grab your bulb planter or hand trowel and get these bulbs in the ground. Planting the bulbs is easy and straightforward as long as you avoid common mistakes like planting the bulbs upside down.

Perform Garden Tool Maintenance

Credit:

Peter Krumhardt

As we finish up our gardening season, it's tempting to huck all our tools in a pile in the corner of the garage and tell ourselves we'll take care of it in spring. But now is the time to sharpen pruners, clean up dirty spades and hoes, and oil wooden handles.

Well-maintained tools will last for years and are much more pleasant to use. In spring, you'll be glad you took a few minutes this fall to get everything ready for use and properly stored where you can find it.

Label Everything

Credit: Kindra Clineff

If you dug up some dahlia tubers, saved seeds from your favorite perennials, or planted a few bargain-sale perennials, now is the time to get those labels affixed, write down the variety names of plants, and organize a bit.

After the rush of the holidays and the mid-winter gardening blues, you may not remember which weigela variety you planted after the tag is lost. Looking into four identical envelopes full of small seeds, it will be almost impossible to remember what they are. A few quick minutes of labeling while the info is still fresh in your mind will prevent confusion next spring.