As our gardening season wraps up, there's one final but very important task to tend to: feeding your soil.
Amending soil in the Fall is one of the best ways to set your garden up for success come spring. After a season of growing, soil nutrients are often depleted, and fall offers the perfect window to restore them while the ground is still workable.
Start by clearing out spent plants and lightly loosening the top few inches of soil. Then add a couple inches of organic matter such as compost, well-rotted manure, or leaves — these materials slowly break down over winter, enriching the soil with nutrients and improving texture. Then finish with a mulch layer of shredded leaves, or chopped straw (heat-sterilized to eliminate weed seeds).
For particularly poor or compacted soil, a top layer of rich compost or aged manure left in place over winter can act as a nourishing blanket that feeds beneficial microbes and earthworms.
Then put the shovel away and let nature takes its course throughout Winter to grow microbes, worms, and other beneficial organisms needed for healthy plant growth.
Take advantage of Fall’s cooler weather to test your soil’s pH and nutrient levels, adjusting as needed with natural amendments like lime (to raise pH) or sulfur (to lower it).
By the time Spring arrives, your soil will be loose, rich, and teeming with life — ready to support stronger, healthier plants with less work.
A note about adding Nitrogen to the soil
Nitrogen plays a vital role in soil health and plant growth — it’s one of the three primary nutrients (along with phosphorus and potassium) that plants need in the largest amounts.
It’s a key component of chlorophyll, the molecule that allows plants to convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis, and of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins that drive growth and repair. Without enough nitrogen, plants often appear pale green or yellow, grow slowly, and produce fewer leaves and smaller yields.
In the soil, nitrogen fuels the activity of beneficial microbes that break down organic matter, enriching the soil structure and improving fertility over time.
In Colorado, it’s best to add nitrogen to your garden soil in Spring or early Summer, when plants are actively growing and can use it right away. Nitrogen is highly mobile in the soil — snowmelt and rain during winter can wash it away before plants benefit. For that reason, Fall applications are usually not recommended unless you’re preparing new beds and combining nitrogen with organic matter that needs time to decompose.
Start by clearing out spent plants and lightly loosening the top few inches of soil. Then add a couple inches of organic matter such as compost, well-rotted manure, or leaves — these materials slowly break down over winter, enriching the soil with nutrients and improving texture. Then finish with a mulch layer of shredded leaves, or chopped straw (heat-sterilized to eliminate weed seeds).
For particularly poor or compacted soil, a top layer of rich compost or aged manure left in place over winter can act as a nourishing blanket that feeds beneficial microbes and earthworms.
Then put the shovel away and let nature takes its course throughout Winter to grow microbes, worms, and other beneficial organisms needed for healthy plant growth.
Take advantage of Fall’s cooler weather to test your soil’s pH and nutrient levels, adjusting as needed with natural amendments like lime (to raise pH) or sulfur (to lower it).
By the time Spring arrives, your soil will be loose, rich, and teeming with life — ready to support stronger, healthier plants with less work.
A note about adding Nitrogen to the soil
Nitrogen plays a vital role in soil health and plant growth — it’s one of the three primary nutrients (along with phosphorus and potassium) that plants need in the largest amounts.
It’s a key component of chlorophyll, the molecule that allows plants to convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis, and of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins that drive growth and repair. Without enough nitrogen, plants often appear pale green or yellow, grow slowly, and produce fewer leaves and smaller yields.
In the soil, nitrogen fuels the activity of beneficial microbes that break down organic matter, enriching the soil structure and improving fertility over time.
In Colorado, it’s best to add nitrogen to your garden soil in Spring or early Summer, when plants are actively growing and can use it right away. Nitrogen is highly mobile in the soil — snowmelt and rain during winter can wash it away before plants benefit. For that reason, Fall applications are usually not recommended unless you’re preparing new beds and combining nitrogen with organic matter that needs time to decompose.