Photo: Robin Plaskoff Horton

Gardening in Fall is entirely dependent on the weather. If there’s an Indian Summer, there is no better time of year to be out in the garden. While gardeners in warm areas will have more to do than their northern counterparts, there are plenty of garden tasks to keep everyone busy in October and November.

Get your soil tested and add amendments as needed. Amend your soil with a dressing of compost.

Use your garden debris and leaves to start a compost pile or turn your existing compost pile. If you don’t have room for a pile, or don’t yet compost, consider an indoor, odor-free compost bin like the Brabantia Pedal Bin with Bio Bucket (above.)

If you have room outside to compost, go for a bin with both substance and style like the BluePlanet Smart Compost Tumbler.

Plant trees and shrubs. Be sure to keep them well-watered, even through the winter (Snow permitting.)
Bring houseplants back inside.
Continue planting garlic.
Plant cool season annuals. Covering mums and asters on nights when a frost is expected, will lengthen their blooming.
Clear away dead foliage.
Here we grow again! Dry and save seed.
Consider a seed exchange program such as Seed Savers, a non-profit organization of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
Take cuttings of tender perennials.
Plant your cutting with a soilless potting mix, such as Perfect Start Natural Potting Soil.
Harvest and dry or freeze herbs for winter use.

Grow your own herbs throughout the winter on a window sill. Consider the Culinary Herb Garden, a seed kit in a box with an assortment of herbs including Greek Oregano, Thai Basil, English Thyme, Santo Cilantro, Sweet Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Garlic Chives, Bouquet Dill, Mint, Sweet Marjoram, and Lavender. The kit includes plant stakes, a pencil, and detailed reference guide complete with a herb chart. Makes a great gift!
Remove green tomatoes from the plants. Either ripen in a brown paper bag or lift the entire plant and hang upside down in a warm spot, to ripen.

Consider growing tomatoes indoors by a sunny window with an upside down tomato planter.
Continue harvesting fall crops like beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale and leeks.

Clean and put away empty containers and garden ornaments. If you don’t have room inside or access to an off-site storage area, consider a compact  weather-resistant storage shed like the Rubbermaid Vertical Storage Shed to stash garden tools and other outdoor items.

Clean and sharpen gardening tools. Good pruning shears are pricey, but a good investment. If you don’t have a good pair, or yours have seen better days, the Felco Ergonomic Pruners are good on the hands as well as on the plants. To make sharpening a little easier, try the Felco Garden Tool Sharpener stone and a little patience.
Clean bird feeders.
Pamper yourself afterward with with some rich hand cream to soothe your rough gardener’s skin.

The Gardener’s Hand Therapy Kit comes with a boar’s bristle brush and gardener’s soap to make the cleanup a snap.

Read about gardening in small spaces. A good addition to any urban gardener’s library is Linda Yang’s City Gardener’s Handbook, which addresses the challenges of small space gardening with practical advice, including an updated mail order list of hard to locate plants and supplies.

Some content via About.com