Search the site

Fall garden solutions

Sustainable living  ›  Natural gardening  ›  How-to tips and videos  ›  Fall garden solutions

Savoring fall’s beautiful bounty? From layering your landscape to boosting lawn health, let the good vibes reign all season with Metro natural gardening tips safe for people, pets and the planet.

Diversify your landscape

The long-term solution to most garden problems? Diversity. Establishing a variety of native and well-adapted nonnative plants in the sun and soil conditions they prefer ensures a healthier garden ecosystem. Variety in size matters, too, so consider low-growing ground covers, annuals and perennials, medium and tall shrubs, and trees. This layered-landscape approach offers an attractive habitat for birds and other beneficial wildlife. Another bonus? A robust, head-turning yard.

Keep yellow jackets at bay

Yellow jackets score big points for eating some garden pests, but these little carnivores grow more aggressive in the fall and can disrupt outdoor activities. Cover picnic foods to avoid attracting the insects. If a yellow jacket drops by anyway, give it a moment to fly off or calmly brush the insect away. Got a whole nest of them around your home? Consider hiring a professional for safe removal. For a fee, some beekeepers will move wasp nests to less-populated areas, where the feisty predators can do more good than harm.

Renovate your lawn

Got a lawn? Time to refresh it for optimal turf health. First, hand-pull any weeds and use a thatch rake to open up the soil. Next, overseed the lawn with an applicable Northwest mix. Third, add a thin layer of weed-free compost or quarter-ten crushed basalt. These steps not only thicken your lawn but also fortify it against weeds.

Wrangle powdery mildew

No need to worry much about powdery mildew that might appear on fall squash and cucumbers. It's unlikely to reduce harvests this late in the season, so simply cut off affected leaves to maintain the plants' beauty. Place diseased foliage in your yard-waste bin to avoid infecting other garden plants.

Related Links

Visit Metro's learning gardens

Find inspiration, see natural techniques at work and get hands-on help at Metro's demonstration gardens.