Fall landscaping advantages include air and soil temperatures, rainfall rates, plant physiology, and availability of landscaping products and services.

1. Warm days and cool Autumn nights are favorable for landscaping compared to the extremes associated with Summer and Winter. Likewise, Springs’ volatile temperatures commonly result in many plantings’ tender new growth’s demise. Moderate Fall temperatures also contribute to an enjoyable landscaping experience.

2. Warm Fall soil supports microbial activity and vigorous root development that strengthen plants ahead of Winter and prepare them to push out a healthy flush of Spring foliage. The frigid soil temperatures are typically associated with Winter shutdown microbial activity and plant growth, encourage dormancy, and prevent seed germination. Root zone temperatures are a vital component of the scientific study of plants. Still, it’s often a neglected consideration of the inexperienced gardener. “Fall planting means strong roots. 80% of a plant’s root growth occurs in the late summer and fall months,” according to High Country Gardens. “While you won’t see as much stem and leaf growth in the fall, the plants are busy growing new roots.”

3. Adequate amounts of rainfall for plant health without the harm associated with the rainy season is a crucial Fall landscaping advantage. The torrential downpours, thunderstorms, and landscape-damaging winds of the July through September rainy season pass with the onset of Fall. Rainy season’s high winds snap limbs and topple trees while flooding rains deprive the soil of oxygen and offer an invitation to root fungus and soil pathogens. And less heat equates to lower watering requirements to maintain your landscape plantings.

4. The plants we associate with landscaping, including trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials, develop in association with environmental conditions that serve as part of the basis of our recognition of the seasons. “Seasonality refers to both a regularly changing environment and the biological responses conditioned by that environment,” according to the Journal of Experimental Botany. “Knowing how plants respond to the sequence of environmental changes through the year is therefore an important topic, not just for the plant sciences, but also because of the role of plants in daily life: this aspect of seasonality forms a bridge for public understanding.”

5. Garden Centers and landscapers are typically their busiest in Spring creating shortages of landscaping materials and longer wait times for landscape design installations. During the Fall, families focus increasingly on back-to-school activities and upcoming holidays. Less demand pressure in Fall increases the availability of landscaping and hardscaping materials, such as pavers that your contracted landscape company can install with decreased wait times.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian or any storm, we’d recommend following these lawn cleanup tips for storms.

-Inspect trees and roofs for broken or fallen limbs. Remove them before doing other yard debris removal to avoid any double working. If significant damage is identified that you cannot safely deal with, consider contacting a professional tree surgeon.

-Cut up larger pieces of tree limbs with a chain saw and lopping shears.
-Rake up sticks, twigs, and leaf debris. Don’t use lawn mowers for this as it can damage mower and mower blades, resulting in flying debris that causes personal injury and property damage.

-Mow the lawn after all debris is removed. Chopping up storm debris with a lawn mower can also leave large chunks of debris in your yard that can kill the turf as it can take months to deteriorate.

-After evaluating your trees, shrubs, and garden beds for potential plant damage trim or remove damaged growth. Make lemonade from lemons and consider replacing trees and/or refreshing landscape beds and shrubs with new varieties. Visit your favorite garden center for new and replacement plants. This could be a great time to schedule a design consultation and have Earth Works complete a landscape makeover.

-Separate yard debris from other household trash and containerize it if required by your municipal trash service. Some services allow large piles of rubble, whereas others need it all to be containerized to a specific size and weight. Refer to your local regulations and potential new pickup times after a storm.
-Avoid piling yard trash up for trash pickup in an area that will smother your good turf, as in bad storms and hurricanes. Realize that it can take longer than usual for removal by your municipal trash service.

-Assess any drainage issues that occurred during the storm and consider drainage solutions appropriate for your circumstances.
-Resume your regular irrigation schedule after giving the landscape time to dry out.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Autumn arrives on September 22, ushering in our Fall lawn and garden checklist of steps to get the most out of your lawn and garden. Here in Northeast Florida, we experience cooler temperatures and sooner than Florida communities further south, but this checklist is generally applicable for lawns and gardens throughout the state.

–Plant trees and shrubs as soil temperatures remain warm as air temperatures decline, putting less stress on new plantings and transplants.
–Address any drainage and percolation problems that will damage or destroy turf. When the water table or zone of saturation is such that the soil is soggy the available oxygen supply to your turf is diminished which kills turf the same as if it was underwater in a flood. Soggy soil encourages fungus growth such as Take-All Root Rot below ground and a cornucopia of fungus species above grown that kill turf and other plants in the landscape.

–Aerate and provide top-dressing soil to your lawn in the Fall or Winter to improve percolation and replenish macro and micronutrients used and leached from your soil. Percolation reduces soggy soil conditions and improves plants’ ability to absorb nutrients. Top dressing with nutrient-enriched soil increases microbial activity such as that of Mycorrhiza fungi that convert nutrients to bioavailable forms for turf and other plants in the landscape.

–Prepare the ground for Fall herbs and vegetable garden beds, perennials, and Spring bulbs, adding compost and soil amendments specifically formulated for the growing requirements of your plantings. For the veggie beds consider planting Beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onions, radishes, summer squash, and turnips.

–Refresh container gardening arrangements with Fall season color. Refer to our monthly Container Gardening Recipes for tips on what will do well each season.

–Rooting hardwood cuttings is best done in Fall.
–Raise mower blades as less frequent mowing is required as warm season grasses prepare to go into dormancy.
–Spread grass seed and lay sod as temperatures have moderated. Many will overseed with ryegrass to green and thicken up the lawn in Fall and Winter.
–Keep your lawn turf thick, which can crowd out weeds and prevent weed seeds from getting sunlight that aids in their germination. Continue pulling weeds, and observing good cultural practices, and only then if necessary consider treating with herbicide. Always follow the herbicide manufacturer’s directions. Learn which weeds you are dealing with and their stage of development, which is critical to their treatment. Warm-season weeds will be dying back and replaced with cool-season weeds, which requires the right choice between preemergent and post-emergent herbicide application.
–Apply Weed and Feed, commonly called Winterizer this time of year prior to turf dormancy. Remember that any preemergent herbicide component will prevent any new grass seeds from germinating. The appropriate NPK formulation for Fall Winterizers is high in potassium and low in nitrogen. Unlike, Spring when nitrogen benefits new growth that same growth in Fall would be threatened by Winter cold and stress the plant. Adequate potassium provided the grass while its still actively taking in nutrients provides warm season grasses greater protection from stress heading into dormancy. However, weigh the fact that herbicides in general stress St. Augustine grass when applying them as a component of your Winterizer.
–Rake, mulch, or bag falling leaves to avoid leaf litter blocking landscape plants’ available sunlight.

Stop by the Earth Works garden center for more information and assistance implementing our Florida Fall Lawn and Garden checklist. Get a free quote for aeration and top dressing and book a landscape design consultation today!

For newcomers to Florida be sure to attend our Welcome to Florida seminar on Oct. 21, 2022, from 5-8 pm. Matthew Barlow, Earth Works Garden Center Manager will introduce Florida newcomers to need-to-know gardening and landscape information. Enjoy appetizers and drinks while you mingle with other Jacksonville transplants and get all your gardening questions answered.

$25 Cover Charge. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite or in-store.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Pond owners using simple pond leak test procedures can assess the leak’s source and make repairs without having to call in a professional. Pond leaks can be expensive but are undoubtedly stressful for pond owners. Calm yourself, though, and consider the following:

Note: Before doing a pond leak test, realize that regular water loss is associated with evaporation. Expect evaporation to increase during the warmer months. And realize that the most common cause for concern over pond water loss is evaporation. Evaporation increases due to various factors, including temperature, wind, and elements of water feature design, including the volume of water pumped across the pond stream (due to shallow water exposure effects of temperature & wind). 

So you’ve ruled out evaporation and want to do a Pond Leak Test. Here are a few steps to follow.

Step 1: Do a visual inspection for any signs of water escaping the liner from debris piled up in your stream. Look for unusual wet spots, soft soil, and erosion that can signify a leaking underground connection or hose. Some pond owners include spitters for additional aeration that, when clogged, can cause water to leak outside the liner around where it’s positioned at the pond edge. Where appropriate, clean out debris from the stream and adjust rocks if it appears there is a blockage backing up water that is escaping over the liner edge. If you find low areas where water is running over the liner, raise the liner edge by backfilling with additional dirt under the liner. Water escaping along the stream is the most common source of leaks and is typically fixable by the pond owner. 

Step 2: Fill the pond to its normal full level and then turn off the pump for at least 24 hours to determine at what level the leakage stops. 

Note: If your pond is home to fish, you can keep them in the pond without the pump running if the fish load is small. However, you’ll need to provide them with supplemental aeration and monitor the water quality closely with a test kit. If you decide to keep your fish in the pond during the pond leak test, consider adding Aquascape’s Maintain product to further assist in keeping the water parameters safe. Otherwise, move your koi, goldfish, and other fish to a holding area such as a quarantine tank.

Step 3: Did the pond leak during the 24 hours with the pond pump turned off? If there was no further leakage with the pump off, skip to Step 4. Allow the leak-down to complete as the leak source will be at or below where it stopped leaking. Once the leak down is complete, inspect the liner at the water level edge for holes. Also, if the skimmer faceplate is in the zone where the leak stopped, check it as a possible leak source that may require resealing. Earth Works sells liner patches and sealant. If you found the leak and patched or resealed it, congratulations, you are done and can disregard additional steps.

Step 4: If turning the pump off stops the leak, then turn the pump on again and reinspect the stream and edge work and the seals where the liner is attached to the skimmer face plate and biofall filter spillway. If the leak is identified as one of the component seals, turn off the pump and reseal the leaking components with silicone and re-foam rocks if necessary. Then turn the pump back on and let it run for 24 hours to verify there is no leak. If the leak continues, move to the next step.

Step 5: With the pump running, begin digging to expose flex hose plumbing connections to the back of the biofall and skimmer. If you find no leaks at the plumbing connections, more digging out of the flex hose for inspection or running new lines will be required, which might be the point at which you will want to contact Earth Works for repair or a rebuild upgrade.

Book your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. 

Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.