1) Review this year’s successes & failures
2) Clean your garden plot and
3) The fun part – start planning for next year.

Two of the Three are more thinking than doing – part of what makes gardening a year-round healthy habit!

Only one part is physical, but you’ve plenty to do:
>> raking leaves,
>> removing dead plants,
>> mulching,
>> tilling and
>> amending the soil,
but it’s plenty to get us off the couch and outdoors for some exercise.

Step One: Your review starts outside with a walk through your property, observing and recalling the various plants you grew and how they fared this summer.

A gardening journal is a great way to record your observations and notes. Was it a dry year or a wet one? Unusually hot or cool? How much time did you spend tending the garden? What kind of watering schedule and system did you use?

Making careful notes of the successes and failures will help in Step Three and when we decide what to plant next year. A clipboard can help with drawing a map of the plantings,notes on the performance of each plant, and about this year’s weather patterns.

This is also the time to take a good close look at your landscape’s perennials, trees and shrubs. How did they fare? Did they grow evenly? Are they stressed? Look for signs of insect damage or disease in the leaves and branches. Make sure there are no sunken areas (cankers) or bleeding scars and broken branches.

Remove any plants or parts of plants that are diseased or damaged. Dispose of the affected material separately – you don’t want it contaminating your compost or garden.

This gets us into Step Two: cleanup and maintenance.

The physical part and the one that taxes our muscle power. Take the advice of experienced gardeners and be sure to stretch before indulging in unaccustomed physical activity. And, don’t overdo it. When you get tired, rest. The work will still be there tomorrow.

First, remove all the dead annuals and fallen flower heads, dead branches, garden debris and dead leaves.

Prune plants that need it in the fall. Clean up thoroughly, since dead material can harbor disease and pests if left in the garden over the winter. Compost as much of the vegitative material as possible – your garden will thank you next spring and your wallet will too!

If you see signs of insect pests, remove them now. If you find bagworms, don’t just pull the bag off the branch. Take a sharp knife or razor blade and cut through the silken strands that are wrapped around the branch. Left on they will strangle the branch as it grows. Tear open or remove fall webworm nests. Don’t kill the spiders; they help control plant eating pests.

Fall cleanup is not just about removing – it also involves planting: bulbs, perennials and shrubs. Get them in now, so their roots have a chance to get established before the winter.

Speaking of planting, don’t forget your lawn. Fall is the time to dethatch and fill dead spots with a good quality seed, bred for the location and climate.

We’ll wait until after the ground freezes to put in a new covering of mulch – 2 or 3 inches. It makes the garden look nicer and helps maintain an moisture and warmth in the soil.

When mulching, remember to make a donut around the crowns of perennials and trunks of shrubs and trees. If the mulch touches the plant, moisture will accumulate around the bark and soften it (and disease, insects and small mammals like mice & voles will be able to get into the trunk and harm the plants).

Now, on to Step Three: planning next year’s garden.
Using the notes you made as you walked around the property and cleaned up the gardens, now you’ll come up with a strategy for next year’s garden.

Make a sketch and note what worked and what didn’t for each section of the garden. Consider what you want to improve. Look at each garden area and imagine what shapes, colors and textures you want in that area. Jot these ideas down on a sketch of your garden plot.

Now when all those garden catalogs flood your mailbox, instead of just buying on impulse you’ll have a plan for finding the right plants. And next year’s garden will be even more healthy and wonderful than this year’s!

Not only are you outdoors (usually) but you’re using your muscles and burning a few extra calories. An average gardener may burn as many as 300 calories in an hour of moderate gardening – about the same as a purposeful walk or game of golf.

So, like any physical activity, you should warm-up correctly and pay attention to proper form. Don’t jump up from sitting at your desk for hours and go directly to swinging a hoe without loosening up those muscles.

Stretching tight muscles with some side-bends and neck rolls will make your work in the garden less stressful. A few squats will prepare your legs for, well, squatting to pull weeds or plant new seeds.

Start with some light gardening work first – hoe before your do your heavy digging. Finish the weeding before you start hauling in compost.

New gardeners often complain of back pain from the lifting they do. To avoid straining your back, always bend your knees and use your legs when lifting instead of your back. Ask a friend or loved one for a hand with the heavy lifting. A strong back is supported by strong abs so you might want to find a soft spot to lie down for a few minutes and do some sit-ups. Hold at the top instead of rushing through for the maximum benefit.

Using the right tools will make gardening more fun and help you avoid injury. For ground work like weeding and planting, use knee pads or a stool. Ergonomically designed tools help you work more efficiently and avoid pain and injuries. Cushioned handles protect your wrist from repetitive motion injuries and handles that are the right size for your height keep back pain at bay.

Proper, comfortable clothes with good shoes are important too. And don’t forget the hat and sunscreen – folks often forget to protect the back of their hands when the gloves come off.

Do you realize gardening can be an aerobic interval exercise?  Just do 20-30 repetitions with the hoe or rake than take a 20 – 30 second break and repeat! Be sure you’re alternating activities every 20 or 30 minutes to avoid over-use strains. You can weed for a while, then rest, dig or edge, do some pruning, then go back to finish the weeding.

And remember, when you finish that a cool down helps your muscles return to a more restful state so take the last 5 or 10 minutes to admire your work, walking around and smelling the flowers and congratulating yourself on a job well done!

It is important to know the type of plants you are watering and the requirement amount for each; this should be done before applying water to your garden. Individuals also want to take note of the type of climate in which they live. Certain types of climates may require less water because of the rainfall throughout the year. People who live in a dry and hot climate will have to water their plants more frequently. If not the roots of the plants will become dry, and the plants will not survive.

Plants should receive about 1inch of water at the roots each week. Watering plants requires more than just sprinkling or spraying the leaves of the plants. The soil can be tested by taking a handful of soil and squeezing it to see if it is too dry or to saturated. If the soil clings together like clay it is usually just right the right amount of water, but if the soil does not clump together and instead runs between your fingers it is being watered too much. Learning how to properly water your garden can ensure a healthy and bountiful garden.

Many vegetables are easy to grow and require little to maintenance. When planting vegetables, consider the vegetables your family eats on a regular basis. They are the ones you will want to plant most and put away for the winter months ahead.

Vegetables that require little maintenance is tomatoes, squash, green peppers. They are simple to plant and started from seed or plant. The only maintenance that is required is weed and bug prevention. There are vegetable sprays for that purpose.

Cabbage, corn, butter beans and snaps are easy vegetables to grow in any garden. Start these vegetables from seed or plant. The maintenance is weed and bug prevention.

Beets, onions and potatoes are easy to plant. They will go a long way when preparing and putting away for winter months. Radishes will grow just about anywhere you plant them.

Even with the smallest of gardens, any of the above-mentioned vegetables are easy to plant and grow. You will save money and give your family homegrown cooked vegetables straight from your own garden. Nothing is better than fresh cooked vegetables on the menu. If you are late planting, starting from seed will not be the best idea. Instead, start from a plant. As with any vegetables including homegrown or store bought, always wash thoroughly before cooking.

Once you know where you are going to plant your garden, your next decision is what you are going to plant. There are several factors you should consider. They include how much sun the area gets, how much rain your region gets and what kind of climate you live in. Deciding what to plant becomes a matter of choosing which plants have the best chance of surviving and bearing fruit or flowers in your garden and which ones you would like to have.

Soil is the next consideration. For plants to grow they need fertile soil. Test your soil to determine if you need to use fertilizer to have a successful garden. Natural fertilizer is better for you, your plants and the environment. Your local gardening store, community gardening collective or knowledgeable elder can give you pointers on what type of fertilizer works for your choice of soil and plants.

Very gently place your seeds, shoots or small plants a few inches under the soil, water regularly and pray for brilliant sunshine. You are now a gardener. Good luck.

Besides all the other considerations of digging beds, weeding and fertilizing, planning is number one. Make a list of all the vegetables you want to grow. Check tags at a garden nursery to see size and planting recommendations. Look for the same information on seed packets or check the wealth of information available on the Internet. Pull out your favorite gardening encyclopedia and refresh your memory about garden plot size requirements for favorites and look up a few new ones too.

Mark off as much space for gardening as you can allocate for this purpose with a hoe or shovel to give you a visual idea of available space. Write down the garden dimensions and compare to any notes you made about plot sizes needed for each vegetable you want to grow. Unless you have ample space for a large garden you may have to down size the number of each type of vegetable to be grown.

Plant tomatoes and peppers that grow vertically in a pot and place the pot in and among other vegetables that crawl along the ground such as melons or cucumbers. Be sure and try putting trailing plants up on a trellis or up the sides of a fence and save even room.

While President Obama toils away at the economic crisis in our country, we can each help our own individual economic situation by growing a garden! In addition to spreading the wealth by growing our own produce, we can also spread the health, which cuts straight to the heart of Ms. Obama’s message for American families. Although growing your own produce takes some time and hard work, it is well worth the effort. The benefits are greater than you may think, if you’ve never experienced the joy of playing in the dirt!

In general, the health effects of gardening are greater than the economic effects, unless you choose to garden on a large scale, but even a few square feet of garden space can yield all the produce your family needs. Seeds and plants are inexpensive and with a bit of planning, can be harvested from this year’s crop to be used next year. Fresh produce, particularly when harvested the same day it is eaten, is both healthier and more appealing than supermarket fare and can help to lessen your grocery bill. Additionally gardening is good, low- impact exercise, which is therapeutic for many. It can be enjoyed indoors or out at any time of year, depending on climate and attitude. Besides, gardening is the patriotic thing to do!

First, be aware of growth time. Some plants are annual, which means they grow only once a year. In a warm climate, tomatoes can grow rather quickly, coming to fruition in as little as two months. Potatoes, on the other hand, take a good deal longer to mature. Certain leafy greens like spinach and kale grow in a matter of weeks, and will continue to grow after harvesting.

Second, decide on committment level. How much time can be spent watering, fertilizing, and weeding the garden? Tomatoes require little hands-on care, as do greens like cabbage and kale. Swiss chard is an ideal home garden plant because it is somewhat heat-resistant and can be left on its own until harvest time.

Third, make sure plants can see the light. Most vegetables need sunlight, but some need a great deal more than others. A few fruits thrive in the shade, but most require a generous amount of sunshine in order to grow properly. Plants that get too little or too much sunlight will wither and die.

Planting and maintaining a home garden can be a good way to save money and live healthier. Considering details like growth time and required toiling will help match the ideal plants to every lifestyle. More economical than the grocery store, home-grown vegetables are be a gratifying addition to any meal.

Bugs tend to breed wherever there is standing water, so take a quick walk around your garden area to make sure that no rainfall has collected in pots, buckets or other surfaces. Eliminating pools of water won’t enable larva breeding there to developing into insects to trouble your garden. Mix up a natural dry insecticide powder by blending sifted flour with black pepper and sift this over and around garden plants to keep insects at bay.

Mix up a batch of your own natural insecticide by blending several teaspoons of mild liquid dish detergent in a gallon of warm water. This can be sprayed directly onto plants or on the ground surrounding your crops and is especially effective at keeping spider mites and aphids away from your plants. To keep fleas away from outdoor gardens, sprinkle diatumaceous earth, a powdery white mixture of crushed shells onto the ground. The fleas will eat and mixture and die.

For a good natural defense against ants and spiders, blend whole wheat flour, buttermilk and warm water and put into a spray bottle. Spray this mixture around the base of your growing plants.

Another way to keep bugs out of your garden which is not only effective but also colorful is to plant a border of marigold flowers around the perimeter of your garden.