Ok, it's official... Fall is here and it's time to start getting the garden ready for winter. After you've cleared out the old tomato vines, okra plants, squash vines, chard, etc., you are ready to either plant the winter veggies or  just close down the garden for winter. And nothing is more important to the garden than the soil. Some of the best conditioners are your raked-up leaves and grass clippings. Actually, we mow up the leaves, when possible, along with the grass and it chops them up quite nicely for a ready-made mulch. Empty the mower bags into the flower beds and vegetable patch and it will give you a humus-rich soil for the next growing season. 

Also, as you get your garden ready for winter, be sure to add lime. Lime not only sweetens the soil, it adds minerals like calcium and magnesium. Applying it before winter allows the ground enough time to let the lime soak and provide a sweet treat for your plants come the spring.

And then there's one last treat for the fall...since gardeners are usually a little teary-eyed over parting ways with garden tasks, here's something to look forward to.  For a little late season hoo-ha run to the nearest garden section and buy seeds for California poppy, candytuft, cornflower, dianthus, phlox, cosmos, soapwort, spinach, larkspur, pansies, some marigolds, snapdragons, garlic, and/or sweet peas. To make things even sweeter, they should be half off at this time of year, and these hardy annuals can actually be planted in the fall to bloom in the spring and summer!