Ross Meeker, Correspondent Published 11:14 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2019

Whether you are putting this year's garden to bed for the winter or planning a new space, this is the time of year to get started. All successful gardens require planning. Setting a garden up properly now will make for a much more relaxed and less stressful growing season, for you and your plants. OSU has numerous resources for proper care, of many specific plants spaces, and situations. I strongly encourage you to seek them out or contact our office for any information you may need. Today I want to discuss some best practices for general garden care as fall is rapidly approaching. Look for links throughout for great resources.

Garden success this year was tough, timely plantings were bathed with excess moisture, and late second attempts found drought stress in the middle of production. Others have seen excellent produce as evident in our local markets who have had a decent selection throughout the season. Your garden depending on your circumstance could be at a variety of stages as things slow down its time to look towards next year.

First things first, we want to start clean. Clearing the area of debris will mitigate disease and weed pressure. Discard sickly or diseased plants, and ensure that weed seed is not introduced into compost or your gardens seed bank. Careful removal, before any cultivation, will save lots of work next year. Most diseases present in our gardens are fungal and rely on spores to propagate. If you think a plant may be diseased, err on the side of caution and remove it from the area. Compost the remaining debris elsewhere. In an agronomic setting, we would prefer to leave it in place for nutrient cycling. However, in the intensely managed environment of a garden, this debris can often provide a home for pests. It is best to allow this material to compost in a designated area and once it is ready, to reintroduce it to the system.

Fall is the right time to perform soil tests, and plan soil amendments. Soil PH, composition, macro, and micronutrients, are best adjusted after we know where we stand. The best way is through a soil test. Blanket fertilizer applications, or routine applications, have proven wasteful. Plants can only use what they can. The addition of unnecessary nutrients will not only waste time, money and effort but in time can create masking of other nutrients, as well as contribute nutrient runoff, a water quality issue that we are all facing. So lets test, add what we need and nothing more. These principles apply to lawn care as well. Testing information is available through our office.

Find proper technique and recommendations for soil sampling at https://go.osu.edu/soilsampling. Lime, phosphorus, and potassium applications, done properly, are welcome in the fall. Other nutrients more susceptible to leaching or movement through the soil profile should wait until we have a growing lawn or garden ready to use them. Remember the 4Rs, RIGHT SOURCE, RIGHT RATE, RIGHT TIME, and RIGHT PLACE. Not familiar with these? Follow this link or contact us. https://go.osu.edu/4rflyer

Cover crops offer a fantastic way to improve your garden and utilize a normally fallow time of year to your benefit. This topic warrants an article by itself, but here are the highlights. Our soil is a living environment, the healthier the environment, the higher the capacity for production. Microbial activity in our area is alive and active during the growing year. As the season turns and fallow ground prevails these critters fall dormant, and their populations dwindle, a natural cycle. The nutrients they utilize become free to leach and move away from the root zone, where our crops could have used and recycled them. Cover crops sustain a portion of these organisms through slow times and reduce recovery time in the spring, meaning that our gardens can have a jump-start. Additionally, cover crops add to the organic component of the soil (referring humus or the remnants of living material in its most decayed state) which increases soil water and nutrient holding capacity.

A little strategy with cover cropping can reduce effort and inputs the following year. Cereals offer a grow-in-place straw for mulching gardens and suppress weeds through competition and allelopathy. Legumes can provide readily available nitrogen for next years veggies. Winterkill varieties can reduce tillage effort in the spring, and living mulches done properly can lead to a no-till system that has its list of benefits.

Again, cover crops are a big topic and a buzzword in many production circles. I urge all producers to investigate their many benefits. Like all hot topics, properly vetting information about cover crops is critical. Self-appointed gurus and findings from improper research have clouded this area. Always look to your land grant system for properly reviewed information so that you can be successful.

Finally, in preparing for next year, and probably the most important, make a record. I have forgotten more lessons in the garden than I have ever learned. Start a journal that can span years. I cannot tell you what was where five years ago, crop rotation can prevent disease, reduce inputs, and curb pests. Some are persistent for decades, so make a note. Write down what varieties and cultivars worked, what you actually used in the kitchen and what added to your life. Write down the ones that did not fare well, that were not as tolerant or prone to drought, required too much suckering, or just a pain to keep happy. Draw next year's plan, and keep it up to date, as Mother Nature makes you adapt. We love to say "better luck next year," but that is useless if we forget what happened this year.

Always feel welcome to reach out to OSU Extension Ross County, or our Master Gardeners for help and information. Look for upcoming opportunities to hone your garden skills as we put together our winter schedule.

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OSU Extension: 2020's best garden starts now - Chillicothe Gazette