Key Takeaways
Pulling weeds in the fall isn’t essential, but it helps prep your garden for winter.Fall weeding lowers spring weed pressure and makes mulching easier.Also, clear annuals, cut back perennials, and store tools before freezing temps..
Fall in the garden can feel calmer than the hustle and bustle of spring. But there’s still plenty you can do to put your garden to bed for the winter and set yourself up for the next growing season—and weeding is one of those important tasks.
Do you really need to pull garden weeds before the first frost? Two experts shared their perspective—along with some other must-do garden tasks to take care of before winter hits.
Meet the Expert
Kelly Funk is the president at Jackson & Perkins, an online garden center specializing in roses
Amanda Staples is the owner and farmer at Germantown Kitchen Garden in Philadelphia
Should You Remove Weeds Before the First Frost?
Removing any remaining weeds from your garden beds in the fall is an important task you won’t want to skip, says Kelly Funk, president at online nursery Jackson & Perkins.
“Many weeds produce seeds that overwinter in the soil,” she says. “If left unchecked, those seeds will be ready to sprout once spring arrives, creating even more work next season.”
Whether or not you pull weeds before the first frost is less important than making sure you get them out of your beds—period.
“It’s absolutely helpful to pull as many weeds as you can before you’re finished in the garden for the season,” says Amanda Staples, owner and farmer at Germantown Kitchen Garden, an urban farm in Philadelphia. “Pull them early, pull them often, pull them late, pull them after the frost, pull them whenever you can. Letting weeds go to seed or get their roots established is never helpful to our spring selves.”
Tidying up your garden before temperatures drop below freezing can be a good idea for other reasons.
“The biggest benefit to cleaning up weeds before it gets cold is that you don’t have to be out there in the cold pulling weeds,” Staples says.
If you live in a region where the ground freezes in winter—which can make weeding much more difficult—you’ll want to get in there before that happens.
Why It’s Important to Weed Your Garden in Fall
The sooner you can remove weeds, the better, regardless of the time of year. The longer weedy plants stay in your garden, the more seeds they’ll drop into your soil. Pulling weeds in the fall will help set you up for a successful growing season in the spring.
“By removing weeds and tidying your garden, you’re not only protecting your plants but also giving yourself a fresh, healthy canvas to work with when the weather warms,” Funk says. “A little effort now saves a lot of labor later, and ensures your roses, perennials, and other flowers start strong next year.”
There are other benefits to removing weeds from your garden, whether before or after the first frost. Staples notes that fall garden tasks like mulching beds or adding compost to replenish nutrients can’t be done if weeds are still standing.
Weeds can provide a safe haven for pests and diseases that you don’t want sticking around in your garden until spring, Funk says.
Plus, removing weeds means a tidier garden through the winter and less work to do once you get your hands back into the soil in spring.
Other Fall Garden Cleanup Tasks
Remove spent annuals. Unless you’re overwintering cool-season crops, you’ll want to remove spent vegetable plants from your beds when you do your fall weeding or after they’ve been killed by a frost.
Cut back disease-prone perennials. Once their foliage has died, cut back perennials like roses and peonies that can harbor disease from one growing season to the next. Some native perennials can also be cut back, or you can leave their spent foliage, stems, and seed heads in place to provide food and habitat for birds and pollinating insects.
Add mulch to protect soil. Apply a few inches of organic mulch like salt hay, shredded leaves, shredded straw, or even compost to insulate perennial roots and help support healthy soil.
Clean and put away garden tools. Collect stray tools and equipment, brush off excess dirt, and store them off the ground in a shed, garage, or dry basement.
Put away hoses and turn off water. Disconnect and drain the water from hoses, then coil neatly and store them inside. If you live in a place where temperatures drop below freezing, turn off water lines to outdoor spigots.
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