Fall gardening tasks to prepare for winter

Now that it’s officially fall, it’s a good time to think about garden tasks you want to accomplish before winter — like moving herbs indoors.

Before frost, carefully lift and pot small herb plants or large perennials, like rosemary or lemon verbena, to bring inside. After lifting them from the ground, you might want to keep them outside for a few days in a partially shaded spot with even moisture; this helps them adjust to moving indoors.

The shock from moving plants from outside to inside can cause some yellowing of leaves. Once they’re inside, keep the herbs in a sunny window.

Some people prefer to simply buy new plants in spring, since it’s challenging to hold these plants over winter without a bright, sunny location inside.

Putting in steppingstones

You might also want to install steppingstones in garden beds where you frequently need to walk — there are plenty of materials to choose from. Pick a style that complements your house, plant materials, and other hardscape elements in your yard.

Dig the steppingstones in slightly and use torpedo sand to level them and set them into place; the sand helps to keep the stones from shifting when they’re walked on.

Small steppingstones will be more difficult to stabilize once in the ground, and steppingstones that are thin (less than ½-inch thick) will be lighter and easier to work with but much easier to crack while installing them.

They’ll also be more likely to crack if the base under them is not well prepared, or if it’s uneven.

Caring for your tools

I have pegboard installed on the walls of my garage to hang garden tools. I hired a firm to do the work, including adding shelves for storage. It’s a great way to keep garden supplies and tools organized; they take up less space hanging on the wall and they’re easier to access.

It’s also good practice to clean tools before putting them away for winter. Remember, too, to sharpen your tools on a regular basis to make your gardening chores easier.

Winterize sprinkler system

Schedule a time now to have your sprinkler system winterized later in October, since water left in the system can freeze and crack sprinkler heads and pipes. You can use compressed air to blow water out of the system.

I neglected to winterize my irrigation system at my old house and returned from a Thanksgiving family visit to a broken backflow preventer, which was split open by the ice that formed.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.