Fall: The Garden Begins (and Ends) Fall is an exciting time of year for many children. It is a time when you are ready to enter a new grade, to learn new material, to meet new friends. For some children, going back to school is not as exciting a time. You have to say goodbye to summer vacation, to sleeping in, and to going to bed late! One way to make fall a more exciting time is if you have access to a garden. In the garden, fall is a time when there is good food to eat, you can find insect cocoons, you can collect seeds from plants, you can find gourds to make birdhouses and musical instruments, you can observe wild animals who have found a home in the garden during the summer. You can hide in the vines of a pumpkin patch, or behind tall stems of sunflower plants. There is no end to the fun you can have in a garden! Fall can be a fun time if you want to begin planning for a Seeds of Change Garden. A Seeds of Change Garden consists of three sections: an Old World Garden, a New World Garden, and an Exchange Garden. The first step in creating a garden is to decide where the garden will be. Begin looking for a garden plot by finding a space that gets lots of sun, has good quality soil, and an availability of water.

Fall Activities to do BEFORE you grow your garden From Field to Table Soil: Gotta Have It! Hopi Seed Pot Fall Activities to do AFTER you grow your garden Drying and Preserving Herbs Secrets in the Garden Harvest

• at least six hours of direct sunshine each day
• a source of water (such as an outside faucet accessible by a hose)
• good soil or soil that can be made good
• level ground

A successful garden requires long-range planning in the fall to incorporate these essential activities:

• locating the garden plots
• selecting crops
• obtaining seeds or plants
• starting some seeds indoors
• turning the soil
• transplanting seedlings outdoors
• sowing seeds or planting plants directly in the garden
• fertilizing
• weeding and cultivating (every ten days)
• watering
• harvesting
• putting the garden to bed

Rest Time for your Garden

Pull out all the plants and weeds except for perennial herbs such as chives and tarragon. Rake up fallen fruits and vegetables. Add everything to your compost pile. Once again, test the soil, and follow the recommendations of the testing agency. Spread the garden with fallen leaves to a depth of two or three inches. Turn the leaves into the soil with a spading fork, and smooth the soil with an iron (not bamboo) rake.

To add nutrients to the garden and to hold soil and organic matter in place, you can plant a crop of winter rye, sometimes called green manure, which is turned over into the soil in the spring. You can buy winter rye seeds at a garden center. To plant them, rake the surface of the soil lightly and sprinkle seeds about the garden according to the directions on the package. Lightly rake soil over the seeds.

Now your garden is ready for winter. You are ready to start planning and dreaming about next year's garden.