Home & Garden: Fall Home Improvement

A beginner’s guide to fall planting and maintenance

METRO CREATIVE

Spring and summer are perhaps the busiest times of year for gardeners. However, fall also is a prime time to tend to gardens.

The tree and bare root retailer Bower & Branch advises that soil temperatures in many regions of the country may still be warm enough to encourage root growth well into the start of winter. Furthermore, fall is often the ideal time to plant, fertilize and keep a garden going or to get a head start on next year’s bounty.

Getting your home in shape for COLD WEATHER

GREEN SHOOT MEDIA

In North Iowa, winter weather can arrive weeks before the calendar turns to December.

That’s why it’s important not to delay winterizing your home.

Drafty doors and windows, failing furnaces, and leaky roofs should be addressed or they risk becoming a much bigger issue as temperatures drop.

In some cases, winterizing your home takes nothing more than a bit of sweat equity.

Window and doors

Fall window maintenance is always a good idea for homeowners, according to Paul Parks, owner, president, and general manager of Pella Windows & Doors of Eastern Iowa, which includes the Mason City location.

He said part of this involves “just making sure their doors and windows are operable and in good working order. If they find that they are not, this is also a great time to reach out to your window and door professionals to do window and door replacement for the winter season.”

Pella has a lineup of doors that meet every situation and price point, according to Parks.

“Homeowners have a choice in the investment they are making in their windows and doors,” he said.

Ine cient doors and windows make it more di cult to warm your home, sending energy bills soaring.

Some drafts might not be particularly noticeable, because autumn temperatures haven’t fallen much. So, walk from window to window and door to door with a lit candle. Place the flame around their edges to see if it flickers.

You may have to call a professional inspector to get to the hardest-to-find places where cold air might eventually pour in. They will pay close attention to attic access points and fireplace dampers. Depending on how large the gap is, you may be able to use foam tape or weather stripping as a corrective measure. New sweeps seal gaps between the bottom of the door and your threshold. Weighted socks (or “door snakes”) can also block smaller points of entry.

As much as 10% of total air leakage may be attributed to gaps around home windows, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Smaller leaks can be addressed with caulking, which is both highly e ective and inexpensive. Window film can also be put in place to seal drafts. Simply heat the film with an every-day hair dryer. Repair professionals or knowledgeable employees at your hometown hardware store may have additional tips.

If these patch jobs don’t work, you may need new windows. In that case, look for replacements that have higher Energy Star ratings in order to lower your monthly costs.

The roof

Professional roof inspections should be done on a semi-annual basis, according to the American Society of Home Inspectors. You can also perform your own spot checks in the interim, being on the lookout for cracked or curling shingles, and stains or damp places in the attic. Addressing these issues becomes a lot more di cult, and a lot more costly, once a long winter sets in.

Professional inspectors will closely examine your roof, both on its exterior and from the interior of your home. They will check the shingles for wear or damage, paying close attention to any ice dams and the general state of the chimney, if you have one. Inside, they will be on the lookout for moisture, ventilation issues and mold. They will also evaluate your insulation. Next, they will create a complete report outlining any issues, the urgency of those issues and a plan of action to address them.

Those who live where snowfall is very heavy can be at risk for roof collapse, simply from the weight of winter precipitation. Even a roof that is in good

shape can only support about 20 pounds of snow per square foot of roofing, according to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Fall inspections are even more important for those who regularly experience this kind of wintry weather. In some cases, snow removal may be recommended while still in the midst of winter.

Some repairs should begin in the fall in order to get the best results. For example, treatments for lichen and moss require as many as 180 days to become fully e ective. New shingle replacements will fail if they are sealed when the temps are too low. Repairs on icy roofs are extremely dangerous, so problems discovered too late may have to remain until the spring in order to be fi xed.

Insulation

Homeowners should have an expert come in to look at their insulation during the fall to make sure it is adequate,

Here are some tips to make the most of the fall gardening season.

 Think about fall annuals and bulb planting. Near the end of September, start planting cool-weather-loving pansies and violas for pops of color as summer flowers fade. Also, it’s a good idea to stock up on bulbs that will bloom in the months to come before they sell out in stores. Wait until the temperatures really cool down before planting them in desired spots for spring sprouts.

 Sow salad seeds. Lettuce, spinach, radishes, and arugula tolerate cooler temperatures. Try new and interesting lettuce varieties and enjoy salads well into the fall season.

 Take inventory of the sun. Positioning a garden carefully means maximizing hours of sunlight, which begin to dwindle in the fall. Experts say gardens grow best in sunny locations that receive six hours of direct sunlight each day. This is where container gardens can be helpful, as they allow gardeners to move plants into spots that will get ample sunlight.

 Fill in landscaping gaps. Some fall plants can add color around the landscape and brighten up homes to add curb appeal. In addition to pansies and violas, asters, kale and chrysanthemums are fall blooms. Keep in mind that mums can come back year after year. So take them out of those flower pots and get them into the ground. They can be enjoyed next year as well, sprouting in early spring and developing leaves and buds through late summer.

 Clean up unwanted growth. Fall is an ideal time to cut back spent vegetable plants and get rid of errant weeds. Rather than bagging leaves, mow them with a grass catcher and then add the mix to a vegetable garden as an excellent soil insulator. The nitrogen and carbon will fertilize the soil, enhancing growing possibilities and limiting weed growth.

 Propagate plants in the fall. As temperatures gradually begin to cool, start taking cuttings from perennials, gathering seed pods from azaleas and rhododendrons and dividing hardwood cuttings, says the resource Gardening Know How. Consult with a garden center or horticulturist on the proper ways to propagate stems using rooting hormone and other techniques.

 Continue to water plants. Water is essential in the fall and winter as roots can still be growing. Gradually reduce watering duration as plants go dormant.

Fall planting and maintenance can extend gardening season and improve the chances of growing a healthy spring garden.

SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK

according to Dan Young, owner of Young Construction in Mason City.

“One of the most econom ical things you can do is to insulate your attic,” he said. “There’s nothing cheaper you can do. That and windows are the two things you will get the best return on.”

The recommended level of insulation for most attics is 10-14 inches, depending on the type used.

Fall is the time to evaluate your needs before your in sulation is tested by ice and snowy conditions. Be sure that insulation has a proper ventilation path to your home’s exterior, and that gable vents, soffits or ridges haven’t become blocked since that can create a mois ture problem. Make sure any new insulation isn’t placed around old wiring.

Batt or blown-in insula

tion can prevent the neces sary dissipation of heat in conductors from long ago, creating a fire risk.

Furnaces

Electric and gas furnaces need annual service checks in order to operate opti mally. Most are projected to work efficiently for around 10-15 years before they need replacement. You don’t want that term to end when there’s snow on the ground.

The good news is, it’s easy to monitor any system’s age. A sticker with the model number, date of manufac ture and date of installation should be found on the unit.

If your system has been in place for more than a decade, it may be time to consider a complete overhaul or unit replacement. Even if your furnace manages to limp through the looming cold season, an inefficient system can still have a huge impact on your bottom line. Resi dential costs have been sky

rocketing lately, and the U.S. Energy Information Admin istration predicts that trend will continue.

Austin Haisman, who works in project management and sales at North Central Mechanical Services in Ma son City, said, “We offer a preventative maintenance program where we stop by a bunch of different folks in town and the surrounding area. We go through their furnace and go through a sys tem check just to make sure everything is up to snuff for the upcoming cold weather. We offer preventative main tenance and we also offer in spections.

“Our big focus is on going through the system and get ting started up for the year, running it through its paces so it’s ready to perform when it gets cold out,” Haisman said.

mary pieper, a freelance writer for the Globe Gazette, contributed to this story.

KATHRYN WEBER Tribune News Service

With the last of summer’s slipping away, the cool breezes, long shadows and bright hues of fall keep drawing us outdoors. Now is the perfect time to transform your patio or porch into a beautiful seasonal outdoor room, providing a perfect vantage point to enjoy the riches of autumn.

Seasonal touches

Without a doubt, fall is resplendent in the fruits and abundance of the season — so use this bounty to decorate. Fresh or faux pumpkins, grasses, twigs and vines all lend a natural e ect. Add a fall wreath to your patio door, above the fireplace, or on an open wall. If you have an outdoor fireplace, why not embellish it with a fall-themed work of art? Artwork looks smashing outdoors and is very trendy now.

For more seasonal touches, mound pumpkins and gourds in a low clay pot to stand in as a centerpiece on your porch/patio table. Group pumpkins with a sheaf of wheat or cornstalks, filling in empty spots with mounds of autumn mums.

Focus on lighting

Add pillar candles on your table or fireplace mantle to build on the romantic mood of the season. Give a nod to Halloween by repurposing garden owl decoys with black spray paint, turning them into spooky raptors. Tea lights on a table, lining the mantle, or hung from branches in jelly jars create a cozy feel. Or curl grapevines on an outside wall and add white Christmas lights for a twinkling e ect. Large lanterns, candle chandeliers and strands of patio lights can also add autumnal atmosphere.

Get creative

Refresh your patio furniture to reflect the new season. Choose fall-colored seat cushions, a table runner or crimson rug to tie the scene together. For a quick crafty tough, cut burlap into a table runner or fall-inspired placemats. Using an autumn-inspired rubber stamp, add a design on the burlap. New outdoor pillows and accessories can give the patio a cozy look.

With summer and gardening chores fast becoming a memory, hide your tools with an outdoor screen made from dog-eared fencing. For less than $30, you can create a neat and tidy look. You’ll need 10 six-foot fence boards, two garden gate hinges and some wood sealer with stain.

Cut two of the fence boards into four pieces of wood, each 22 inches long. These are the crosspieces. Next, evenly space four fence boards on the ground. To create a panel for the screen, place one crosspiece one foot from the top and one foot from the bottom of the four fence boards. Make sure the four vertical pieces are spaced evenly and nail the crosspieces to the boards. Do the same on the next panel. Add hinges at the backside of the screen where the crosspieces are located. Stain and let dry.

Fall wreathes and arrangements o er a quick and easy way to brighten up your patio for autumn.

KATHRYN TRIBUNE NEWS

GREENSHOOT MEDIA

Fall leaves are lots of fun, unless you’re the one that has to rake them. The good news is you don’t have to rake them this year.

Leaves are an important part of the ecosystem, pro viding fall and winter homes for overwintering insects, including butterflies and other valuable pollinators.

Mulching

If you must keep the leaves off your lawn, instead of raking or, even worse, blowing the leaves away, try mulching the leaves into fertilizer for a greener spring. Leave your leaves in the flowerbeds and in other places that are away from the grass as a home for helpful insects and other pollinators to keep your gar dens happy next year.

How to Mulch Your Leaves

You can mulch your leaves with a lawnmower or a leaf shredder. Mulching the leaves chops them into fine pieces so they don’t smother your grass and so that they break down more quickly into a nutrient-rich fertilizer for your yard.

Your lawnmower may have its own mulch setting, or you can buy inexpen sive mulching kits to put on your mower instead of mower blades. Follow the manufacturer’s instruction for those kits, but generally, they are used on the mow er’s highest setting. Deep drifts of leaves may require multiple passes, or you can rake the mulched debris so that it’s evenly distributed across your yard.

Compost

Another idea for your leaves is to pile them up or bag them and move them to a safe place in your yard where you can compost them. Leaves can also be piled into flower beds to act as insulation during the colder winter months. If the leaf litter is too deep and doesn’t break down by spring, just remove them to the compost bin.

Using Leaves for Weed Prevention

Remember how leaves can smother your yard and kill your grass? It also works for weeds. You can spread leaves over patches of weeds to kill them during the fall and winter. More impor tantly, you can spread leaves or mulched leaves over bare spots in your yard to keep weeds from setting up shop.

Those gorgeous colored leaves that drop every fall don’t just fall on your yards and flower beds. They also drop on your roofs and gutters, keeping precipita tion from moving efficiently and safely away from your home. You can prevent costly roof and home repairs with a little simple maintenance done every fall.

Step 1: Time to Climb

The first step in maintaining your gutters properly is to grab a ladder and safely as cend to the gutter height. Using your hands or any number of available tools, clean all the leaves, debris, dirt and assorted crud from your gutter.

Step 2: Check Fasteners

The next thing you want to do is to check the gutter spikes to make sure they pass through the gutter, fascia board and into the rafters of your roof. Over time, these spikes can work their way out or they may have never been properly fastened at all. If needed, invest in new gutter spikes to keep your gutters safely secured to your home. While you’re up there, look for holes in the gutters themselves or in the caulking in the seams.

Step 3: Attend to Downspouts

While you’re cleaning out the gutters, don’t forget to also clean the down spouts. If these spouts are clogged, it can cause backups that will pull your gutters down from your house. You also want to check the rivets on your downspouts. If the rivets are loose or have dropped out, head the hardware store and get a set of new rivets and a rivet gun to make quick repairs. At the bottom of the downspout, there may be a splash guard to prevent the water from eroding the earth near your home. Make sure these are rou tinely replaced to keep your foundations secure.

Step 4: Pressure Wash

Once you’ve got everything securely fastened, you can then break out the big guns. Pressure washers are power ful tools, and it’s important that you use them according to the manufacturer’s specific instructions, especially while you’re working up high, such as on lad ders cleaning your gutters.

Also be careful with positioning the stream from the pressure washer so that it doesn’t hit the roof shingles at the wrong angle and blow them off the roof. every backyard has

FIRED UP FOR FALL

Outdoor fireplaces and fire pits you can make or buy

KATHRYN WEBER Tribune News Service

Sitting around a roaring fire sipping cider and roasting marshmallows is one of the joys of autumn. But you don’t have to be on a campout to do it. Most homes today can easily incorporate a fire pit or outdoor fireplace. And with the wide range of options available, you can be making s’mores by the time the sun goes down.

Custom fireplaces and fire pits

If you’ve got the tools, the room and the time, a custom fire pit or fireplace makes a nice addition to any back yard, and creates a cozy gathering place. Make sure you choose a spot that’s ideally 25 or more feet from the house and well away from vegetation. You can build a small fire pit in a few hours using inexpensive materials, such as stacking concrete stones. A fire pit with seating or a fireplace could take a weekend or more and be much more expensive. For a good selection of DIY fireplace and fire pit projects, check online at DIYnetwork.com and Thisoldhouse.com. If you just want some design ideas, take a look at Houzz.com.

Wood or gas?

Another consideration is whether you want a real wood fireplace or fire pit, or if you prefer gas. There are a number of models to choose from in both varieties, and both gas fire pits and fireplaces o er options for liquid propane or natural gas. Typically, though, the simpler

wood burning fireplaces and fire pits are less expensive, easier to connect and take the least time to install.

Prefabricated fireplaces and fire pits

Putting together a prefabricated unit is quick, and depending on the option you choose, may cost roughly the same as a custom fireplace or fire pit. The savings is in time. When all you have to do is assemble the parts, you can create a great-looking fireplace or fire pit in an afternoon. Home centers usually carry prefabricated fire pits, but fireplaces may have to be ordered.

Fire pit kits that burn wood are available online and cost between $250 and $499 (Homedepot.com) and include the stones for stacking, a metal liner, and capstones to finish the top of the pit. Some kits also include a cooking grate.

If you want a fireplace in the back yard, there’s a prefabricated one to match almost any style of home. Prices start at $1,500. A nice-sized unit will cost more than $2,000 (Woodlanddirect.com), and o er options such as a gas line hook up, charcoal or wood burning, and come with a five-year warranty.

Kit fireplaces are also available online and at home centers (homedepot.com). However, if you’re in a hurry to start cooking, simple bowl fire pits, and even simpler chimneas (lowes.com) are available for less than $100 — and best of all, they’re portable.

Lastly, add a beautiful scent to your fireplace or fire pit with pinon wood. The fragrance of pinon is captivating and enhances an evening spent around the fire.

METRO CREATIVE

The inevitable slowing of activity in the garden during fall marks a time to shift at tention from constant plant care to preparing the land scape for next season. It may be tempting to simply let Mother Nature take over, but a little pre-winter TLC can ensure gardens make it through winter unscathed.

Remove spent plants

Decomposing organic material is the basis for compost and other fertil izers. However, vegetable plants that are left to sit can lead to decay in the garden. Decaying plants can serve as hosts for pest populations and diseases. Rotting vegetables also can drop unwanted seeds into the soil, which eventually can strip nutrients that normally would go to next year’s crops.

Ornamental plants and perennials can be cut back in fall. Cut down stalks and remove leaves.

Plant a cover crop

The gardening resource

This Is My Garden recom mends planting a cover crop to set the stage for a successful spring. A cover crop protects the soil and can return nutrients to it. When the soil is bare during winter, weed seeds can easily blow in and lie in wait , ultimately becoming a problem during the en suing year. Cover crops can include clover or field peas, which will increase the lev els of available nitrogen.

Amend the soil

Fall is a perfect time to add soil amendments, such as manure and compost. These fertilizers will add nutrients and break down gradually, enriching the soil over the winter.

Replenish mulch

Gardeners may have added mulch around shrubs and other areas of the land scape early in the season because it is attractive. But mulch also does much to re duce water loss and protect the soil from erosion. It may inhibit weed growth as well. Replacing mulch when the

mercury drops can insu late the soil, which helps to regulate soil temperature. A thick layer of mulch around root vegetables left in the garden can offer protection against hard frosts.

Divide bulbs

Divide plant bulbs and plant them where you want flowers like daffodils and tulips to grow in the spring.

Prune dormant plants

Wait until plants are dor mant to prune them and adjust their shape. Most shrubs and trees should be pruned in late winter, right before new growth.

Move potted plants

Bring delicate plants into a sheltered area, such as a greenhouse or indoor ga rage, so they can continue to thrive during the winter.

Fall and winter still pro vide opportunities to spend time in the garden. At this point in the year, gardeners can prepare landscapes for the next season.

GREENSHOOT MEDIA

Foliage, plants, traditional items and candles in the shades of autumn can provide just the right sea son-focused touch for your next table setting. Then complement your fall centerpiece with handpicked accessories to complete the look.

Bring the outside in

Look for leaves, branches, vegetables and flowers that reflect the traditional col ors of fall — from rich reds to bold oranges to warm yellows. Weave them together into a circular or oval shape to create the foundation of your centerpiece, or craft a free-form garland. You could also paint a plain woven bread basket to create a cozy place to collect it all. If you’re not neces sarily that crafty, you can also purchase an autumn-themed centerpiece and use these handpicked items to personalize it. Cornucopias are a classic choice that will provide timeless memories for a new gen eration. Place fall-colored and -scented flowers around the arrangement. Com plete the centerpiece with wheat sprigs, small pumpkins and squash, or other sea sonal foods like apples.

Finishing the look

Select napkins, placemats and a table

cloth that fit into the color palette you’ve created with the centerpiece. Then get creative: Paint leaf patterns by hand on wooden napkin rings to give them a sense of homemade charm. A hollowed-out pumpkin can also be used as a vase. Large fallen leaves from outdoors can serve as fall-focused place cards. Rinse them first, then allow each to dry before carefully in scribing them with the names of friends and family. Go around the table, placing one in front of each plate.

Other helpful tips

Make sure your centerpiece isn’t so large that there isn’t room for glasses, condiments and serving platters. It also shouldn’t be so tall that guests struggle to see one another. Don’t light the can dles, since that may interfere with the scrumptious aromas associated with the meal you’ll serve at this fall gathering. Don’t be afraid to keep it simple: Arrange a grouping of mismatched gourds and pumpkins to very easily transform your tabletop. Focus on varying sizes and col ors. Rather than worrying with formal floral arrangements, collect dried branch stalks in a variety of vases. For more pops of color, wrap the branches with wool and fleece, creating a sculptural conversation piece.