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Fall Garden & Lawn Prep: Winterizing, Bulbs & Cover Crops
Fall garden prep guide: lawn winterizing, spring bulb planting, cover crops, and perennial protection. Seasonal fertilizer checklist.
What Is It ?
Fall is the most underrated season in the gardening calendar. While most gardeners wind down after the last harvest, experienced growers know that September through November is when you build the foundation for next year's success. Fall is the optimal time to plant spring-flowering bulbs with phosphorus-rich fertilizers that drive root establishment, seed cover crops that rebuild your soil over winter and suppress weeds for free, fertilize lawns for the deep root development that drives a thick spring green-up, protect perennials and trees with potassium applications that harden tissue for winter survival, and apply soil amendments that need months to integrate before spring planting. Cool soil temperatures and reliable rainfall create ideal conditions for root growth even as above-ground growth slows. A lawn fertilized in early fall develops deeper roots and thicker turf that crowds out weeds the following spring without herbicides. Spring bulbs planted in October with Wicked Growth Fall Bulb Fertilizer or Wicked Organics Bone Meal develop robust root systems over winter and burst into bloom months before the garden season begins. Every hour you invest in fall garden prep pays compound interest when spring arrives. This guide walks through every fall garden task in order — from the critical September lawn feeding through bulb planting, cover crop seeding, perennial protection, and soil amendment applications — with specific Old Cobblers Farm product recommendations and rates for each step.
Fall Lawn Fertilization: The Most Important Feeding of the Year
The single most important lawn fertilization of the entire year happens in early fall — typically September in New England. Cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, and ryegrass enter a period of aggressive root growth as air temperatures cool into the 60s and 70s but soil remains warm from summer. Feeding during this narrow window produces the dense, deep root system that drives everything you want from your lawn: thick spring green-up, drought tolerance the following summer, and dense turf that physically crowds out weeds.
Apply a potassium-forward formula that emphasizes root strength and winter hardiness over top growth. You do not want to push lush leaf growth in fall — you want to drive energy into roots. Wicked Growth 10-5-13 provides exactly this balance: moderate nitrogen for color maintenance, moderate phosphorus for root development, and high potassium for cold hardiness and cell wall strength. At 8 pounds per 1,000 square feet, it delivers approximately 0.8 pounds of nitrogen and over 1 pound of potassium — the ideal fall ratio.
Wicked Growth 8-0-16 delivers even more potassium emphasis for established lawns with adequate phosphorus levels. The zero-phosphorus formula is the responsible choice for mature lawns that have been fertilized regularly and do not need additional P.
For organic lawns, Wicked Organics 10-2-8 at 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet feeds steadily through fall without pushing excessive top growth. The organic nitrogen releases gradually as soil biology remains active through October and November, sustaining feeding into the early dormancy period when roots are still growing.
A late-fall application of Wicked Growth 0-0-60 Muriate of Potash at 1.5-2 pounds per 1,000 square feet further enhances winter survival. This concentrated potassium application is like giving your lawn a winter coat — it strengthens cell walls against freeze-thaw cycles and reduces the crown hydration injury that kills grass during January thaws followed by hard refreezing.
Planting Spring Bulbs
Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, alliums, and other spring-flowering bulbs go in the ground between mid-September and early November — after soil temperatures drop below 60 degrees but well before the ground freezes. Bulbs need a sustained cold period (vernalization) to trigger the biochemical changes that produce flowers, which is why they must be planted in fall rather than spring.
Bulbs need phosphorus and potassium for root establishment and bloom quality, not nitrogen. Nitrogen at planting time is counterproductive — it stimulates leaf growth at the expense of root development, exactly the opposite of what bulbs need before winter.
Wicked Growth Fall Bulb Fertilizer (5-10-10) is formulated exactly for this purpose: the 1:2:2 NPK ratio delivers heavy phosphorus for root development and potassium for cold hardiness with minimal nitrogen. Apply 2-3 pounds per 100 square feet of bulb bed, or 1 tablespoon per planting hole for individual bulbs. Work it into the soil at the bottom of the planting hole so nutrients are in direct contact with where new roots will develop.
For organic bulb planting, Wicked Organics Bone Meal (3-15-0) is the traditional choice. Its high phosphorus content drives robust root development through fall and early winter. Work a tablespoon into the bottom of each planting hole, or broadcast 5 pounds per 100 square feet and rake into the top 4 inches before planting.
Wicked Organics Rock Phosphate (0-12-0) provides even longer-lasting phosphorus — a single application continues feeding bulbs for 3-5 seasons, making it ideal for permanent bulb plantings that you want to naturalize over time. Wicked Organics Bone Char (0-16-0) offers the highest organic phosphorus concentration (16%) plus the soil-conditioning benefits of activated carbon, creating a better root environment while delivering concentrated nutrition.
How To Store
After harvesting summer crops, seed cover crops into empty beds rather than leaving bare soil exposed to erosion, nutrient leaching, and weed colonization over winter. Bare soil loses topsoil to wind and rain, allows nutrients to leach below the root zone during fall and spring rains, and provides a perfect seedbed for winter annual weeds that will greet you in spring. Cover crops prevent all three problems while actively building soil fertility.
Winter rye is the most reliable cover crop for New England. It germinates at soil temperatures as low as 34 degrees, survives the harshest winters, and produces massive biomass to turn under in spring. Seed at 2-3 pounds per 1,000 square feet any time from late August through mid-October. Crimson clover and hairy vetch are legumes that fix atmospheric nitrogen — contributing 50-150 pounds of free nitrogen per acre that feeds next year's crops. Mix a legume with a grass for the best combination: nitrogen fixation from the legume plus weed suppression and biomass from the grass.
Wicked Growth Cover Crop Fertilizer (10-10-10) at 2-3 pounds per 100 square feet gets cover crops established quickly. For legume-dominant mixes, skip the nitrogen and focus on phosphorus and potassium instead — Wicked Growth 0-46-0 Triple Superphosphate provides concentrated phosphorus for vigorous nodulation and nitrogen fixation. Wicked Growth 0-0-60 supplies the potassium that supports cold-hardy legume growth.
Cover Crop Seeding
Fall is not the time to stimulate new growth in perennials, shrubs, or trees. Soft, succulent new growth triggered by late-season nitrogen cannot harden off before winter and will freeze, creating wounds that invite disease and potentially killing branches or entire plants. The only nutrient to emphasize in fall for woody plants is potassium, which hardens existing tissue for cold tolerance.
A side-dressing of Wicked Growth 0-0-60 Muriate of Potash at 0.5-1 pound per tree around the drip line improves winter hardiness without pushing new growth. For organic orchards, Wicked Organics Greensand (0-0-3) at 5-10 pounds per tree provides gentle potassium and trace minerals that build long-term soil health around permanent plantings.
For blueberries, a fall application of Wicked Growth Blueberry Mix or Wicked Organics Blueberry Fertilizer (4-6-4) maintains the acidic conditions these plants need heading into winter. The acidifying effect persists through the dormant season, keeping pH in the 4.5-5.5 range where blueberry roots function best.
Apply Wicked Organics 4-6-4 around perennial flower crowns in late September — it will decompose slowly over winter and release nutrients right when plants break dormancy in spring. This is far more effective than waiting until spring to fertilize perennials because the nutrients are already in position when root growth resumes.
Protecting Perennials and Trees
Fall is the ideal time to apply soil amendments that need months to fully integrate into the soil profile. Winter freeze-thaw cycles physically mix amendments deeper into the soil than manual incorporation can achieve, and the extended timeline allows slow-acting materials to become fully available by spring.
Wicked Organics Bio Char mixed into garden beds now — at 5-10% by volume in the top 6-8 inches — will be fully colonized by beneficial microbes by the time spring planting arrives. The freeze-thaw cycles of winter help distribute Bio Char particles through the soil profile and create the micropore spaces that give this amendment its permanent soil-improving properties.
Wicked Organics Greensand applied in fall at 5-10 pounds per 100 square feet provides potassium and trace minerals that become available through winter weathering. Its mineral structure slowly breaks down over months, releasing nutrients at a pace that perfectly aligns with spring demand.
Wicked Organics Rock Phosphate incorporated into beds in October begins its slow dissolution process. The acidic conditions created by decomposing fall organic matter help dissolve the mineral matrix, and by spring, plant-available phosphorus levels will be measurably higher than if you had applied the same product at spring planting.
Putting the Garden to Bed
Remove spent crop debris — dead tomato vines, brassica stalks, squash foliage — and compost it. Leaving diseased or pest-infested debris in the garden provides overwintering habitat for the exact problems you want to avoid next year. Healthy debris is fine to leave as surface mulch, but anything that showed signs of fungal disease, bacterial issues, or heavy insect damage should go to the compost pile where high temperatures will destroy pathogens.
Spread 2-3 inches of compost or aged manure over empty beds. Apply Wicked Organics 5-3-4 at 3-5 pounds per 100 square feet as a final slow-release feeding that will break down over winter. By spring, the organic nitrogen in this application will have been converted to plant-available forms by soil microbes, ready to feed the first seedlings and transplants.
Mulch perennial beds with 3-4 inches of straw or shredded leaves after the first hard frost — not before. Mulching too early traps warmth and delays the hardening-off process that perennials need. Wait until plants have gone fully dormant (typically after several nights below 25 degrees), then mulch to insulate the root zone against the extreme temperature swings that cause frost heaving — the cycle of freezing and thawing that physically pushes shallow-rooted perennials out of the ground.
Fall Task Calendar for New England
September (first half): Apply fall lawn fertilizer — Wicked Growth 10-5-13 or 8-0-16 at recommended rates. This is the highest-priority fall task. September (second half): Seed cover crops in beds cleared of summer crops. Plant spring bulbs in southern New England. October: Continue bulb planting in northern areas. Apply Bio Char, Greensand, and Rock Phosphate to beds being put to rest. Spread compost and Wicked Organics 5-3-4 on empty beds. Remove spent crop debris from vegetable gardens. November (before freeze): Apply late-fall potassium to lawns using 0-0-60. Mulch perennial beds after hard frost. Complete any remaining bulb planting before ground freezes.