<\/strong>S – Soil Samples and Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it\u2019s fresh in your mind, take some time to sort through what did or didn\u2019t work in your gardens this year. Did your coneflower to the left of your door grow and bloom exponentially, but the same coneflower to the right of your door didn\u2019t? How did your tomatoes do? Did you try a new variety that struggled all season? Did they have a bad case of blight you fought all summer? Write down all your observations and take some time to understand the \u201cwhy\u201d. A great place to start is to take some soil samples and bring them to your county extension office. The results will take a little while to get back, but they will answer a lot of those questions you have and give you recommendations on how to amend the soil to not only help what\u2019s already in the ground but also to set yourself up for success in the spring. You can learn more about how to take the soil samples (it\u2019s easier than you think) at this link<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While your soil samples are sent off to be tested, it\u2019s time to start clearing out the old, dead growth from the season. This isn\u2019t important for just aesthetic reasons; it helps prevent disease that may linger into the next season. Remember those tomatoes you were reflecting on that got a bad bout of blight? If you don\u2019t properly remove any dead or diseased leaves, stems, fruit or the whole plant, tomato blight spores can overwinter in the soil – meaning you\u2019ll have the same struggle again next year if you don\u2019t take care of it properly now. Remember to dispose of them properly; diseased plants should be double-bagged and put in the garbage. Toss weeds into the bin while you’re at it, but any old but healthy plant matter, like leaves or trimmings off perennials, to help them prep for dormancy, can all be added to your compost pile. If you\u2019re unsure of what can and can\u2019t be composted while clearing out your gardens, take a look at this article on Composting at Home.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve received the results of your soil test(s) – it\u2019s time to make some changes! If you need to amend your soil, you\u2019ll want to do this now. Think of it like baking a cake; just because you mixed all the ingredients doesn\u2019t make it a cake. It needs time to bake! You can have all the right amendments mixed in, but the soil needs time to amend<\/a> so it will be ready to support the growth of the plants you currently have or want to add in the future. Adding new plants right away isn\u2019t ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t need to amend your soil to do so, it\u2019s great to get new trees, shrubs and bulbs in the ground. This time of year is ideal to do so because it reduces stress on the plants and gardeners. New trees, for example, need more water, so planting in the summer, although doable, is like pushing a rock uphill. You\u2019ll have to constantly water the tree to prevent it from drying out in the summer heat. Not keeping up with that watering could stress the tree or shrub, making it more susceptible to disease. Planting in the fall gives newly planted trees and shrubs the best chance for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The author of this article, Kaela Bernardino, is a Paulding UGA Extension Master Gardener, trained to provide education for homeowners on horticulture, sustainable landscaping, and environmentally friendly gardening practices using unbiased, research-based information from the University of Georgia.\u00a0 For more information, contact Paulding County UGA Extension at 770-443-7616 or view our online resources at www.ugaextension.org\/paulding<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Remember when you were a kid, and you\u2019d get tucked in on all sides nice and snug for a good night’s rest so you\u2019d be ready to go the next day? Your gardens need that same care in late fall to have the best start in the spring. Some call it \u201cputting the garden to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":310,"featured_media":452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,106,1],"tags":[150,149,60],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-native-plants","category-tools-gifts-gardening","category-uncategorized","tag-compost","tag-soil-amendment","tag-soil-testing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":453,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>N – Neaten and Compost<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>U – Update and Amend<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Wheel](\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/paulding\/files\/2025\/10\/soil_amendment_wheel_transparency.png\")
<\/strong>G – Growing Over Winter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fall, think about making your gardens SNUG for the cold winter, and you\u2019ll surely have a beautiful spring and an abundant growing season in the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n