Fall Fertilization 101: Why It’s Important and How to Get Started

Have you ever noticed how forests and prairies seem to grow vigorously without humans coming through every spring to spread fertilizer? For some reason, we have to do it every spring for our lawns and trees, yet nature manages just fine without us. Where does the fertility come from?

It’s not so hard to figure out. Every year, our plants go through cycles with the seasons, and in the fall, that cycle generally includes dropping leaves and/or plants dying back. In the end, loads of organic material litter the forest floor or prairie soil. That material is key to natural fertility.

The organic matter is processed by billions and trillions of microbes that leave behind trillions and quadrillions of little microscopic piles of manure. By the time spring rolls around, the whole area has been well and slowly fertilized. When the growing season starts, voila!

So, maybe we should be fertilizing, like nature, in the fall, and if we are going to do that, why not just follow nature’s notes on how to do it?

Mulch = Compost = Fertilizer

Essentially, what nature is doing in the fall is spreading a thick, lovely layer of mulch all over the soil. Dead grasses and plants are basically hay, and trees shed their leaves and needles to cover the soil beneath them. All of this creates inches of organic mulch material.

The thick layer of mulch becomes a welcoming habitat for microbes and soil life, including garden champions like worms and fungi. These organisms feed on the organic material, a process known as decomposition, and that grass and those leaves basically become the equivalent of compost.

With compost comes a great deal of fertility. The mix of organic materials, including that microscopic poop, provides lots of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK), as well as other important micronutrients.

Recognizing the Genius of Nature

Amazingly, nature cycles this way year after year, and it has proven to be sustainable and productive. More amazingly, we humans haven’t seemed to notice and, instead, bag up our grass clippings and leaves to send them away to landfills. Meanwhile, we buy fertilizers by the bag and spread them around in concentration.

The problem with how we do it is that it creates a lot of fertilizer runoff, which sends our lakes and waterways into polluted places. Not only have we removed the organic litter that would soak up the nutrients to release it slowly into the soil, but we’ve also covered that bare soil with fertilizers that can wash away.

When we recognize the genius of nature, we can observe what has worked since before humans existed and replicate it in our gardens. When we do that, our spaces will be healthier and stronger, as well as much more self-reliant, as nature is.

How to Fertilize in the Fall like Nature

Now, to transfer this lesson to the garden and orchard, we first need to collect plenty of organic materials that are abundant in the fall. Rake up and keep the leaves. Save grass clippings, weeds, and dead plants. Seek out fallen twigs and branches, wood chips, and sawn branches. Even kitchen scraps will do.

Pile all of this organic material around the base of trees and on the garden soil (put any food scraps at the bottom of the pile to avoid smells and curious animals). For the sake of aesthetics, it might be nice to top the mix of organic materials with an attractive cover of straw, wood chips, or leaves.

After that, the organic matter should simply be left in place to break down and allow nutrients to soak into the soil, as well as down to the tree roots. The slow-release fertility stays in the soil instead of being washed away, and those fertilizers in spring won’t be necessary, just as they aren’t in nature.

Why Natural Fertility Is Better

What standard NPK fertilizers do is feed our plants only the macronutrients they need, the equivalent of protein, carbohydrates, and fats in our food. But, of course, we need vitamins and minerals and antioxidants and so on. Plants are just the same. That’s why it’s worth fertilizing in the fall and doing it slowly with diverse organic matter and plenty of soil life.

Related Content:

• How to Turn Your Leftover Banana Peels Into Fertilizer
• 5 Natural Fertilizers You Can Make At Home For Healthy Plants [Video]
• TikTok Hack: Easy DIY Plant Fertilizer [Video]
• How to Get Critters to Naturally Fertilize Your Garden Spaces
• How to Enrich Your Soil Naturally Without Fertilizer