The Turn Into Autumn: Preparing the Homestead and Embracing the Change

There’s a particular feeling to the turn from summer into autumn. It doesn’t happen all at once, and that’s perhaps what can make this period so enjoyable. One day can still feel distinctly summery, with warm sunshine and plenty happening in the garden, while the following morning brings a chill in the air, dew on the grass and noticeably less light at the end of the day.

For those of us living close to the land, this transition is more than a change in the calendar. The garden begins to ask different things of us. Harvests need gathering and storing, some crops are coming to an end while others can still be planted, buildings and equipment need checking before wetter weather arrives, and the pace of outdoor work gradually begins to change.

It’s a useful time to prepare, but it’s also worth resisting the temptation to see autumn simply as a list of jobs that need completing before winter. There’s plenty to enjoy in this period of change, and some of the most rewarding things to do now are about noticing what’s happening rather than trying to hold on to summer.

Make the Most of the Remaining Harvest

One of the first priorities is making sure that the food the garden has produced doesn’t go to waste. September and early October can still be surprisingly productive, with tomatoes, beans, courgettes, apples, pears, squash and a range of other crops ready to be harvested depending on where you live and what you grow.

Some crops are best picked regularly to encourage further production, while others need bringing in before cold or wet conditions make harvesting more difficult. Onions and potatoes can be stored once properly cured, apples and pears can be kept in suitable conditions, and herbs, fruit and vegetables can be frozen, dried, bottled, pickled or fermented.

There’s something particularly satisfying about putting food away at this time of year. A cupboard filled with jars or a freezer containing produce from the garden is a reminder of what the land has provided over the past few months, but it also changes the way you think about the coming season. Instead of seeing winter simply as a period when little grows, you begin it with some of the abundance of summer still available to you.

Prepare the Garden for What Comes Next

Autumn preparation doesn’t mean stripping the garden back to bare soil. Remove plants that have finished producing or have become diseased, but consider leaving healthy stems, seed heads and other vegetation where they can provide shelter and food for wildlife. Fallen leaves can also become useful organic matter, particularly when gathered for leaf mould or used appropriately as mulch.

Bare beds can be covered with compost or another suitable organic material, helping to protect the soil from heavy rain and giving it something to work with over the months ahead. If you grow on a larger plot, this is also a useful opportunity to look back at the summer and notice what worked and what didn’t. Perhaps one part of the garden stayed too dry, another became waterlogged or a particular crop struggled in a certain position. These observations are much more useful than trying to remember everything when spring arrives.

One of the easiest mistakes to make in autumn is assuming that the growing year has finished. There are still plenty of things that can be planted, particularly early in the season while the soil retains some warmth. Garlic is an obvious choice, while some varieties of broad beans, onions and hardy salad crops can also be suitable for autumn planting or sowing depending on local conditions.

It’s also a good time for planting trees, shrubs and many perennial plants. Cooler conditions can make establishment easier, provided the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged, and getting plants into the ground now gives them time to establish roots before the demands of another summer. Spring-flowering bulbs are another simple way to look beyond the current season. Planting them in autumn means that the garden is already preparing for colour that won’t appear for several months.

That’s one of the more enjoyable aspects of this period. Even while you’re putting the garden to bed in some places, you’re quietly preparing other parts of it for what comes next.

Get the Homestead Ready for Wetter Weather

There are practical jobs that are much easier to deal with while the weather is still relatively mild.

Check sheds, greenhouses, polytunnels, fences and gates for damage, clear gutters where necessary and look for small problems that could become much bigger once persistent rain and strong winds arrive. If you collect rainwater, check tanks, barrels and connections, while tools should be cleaned, dried and stored properly rather than being left outside as the weather deteriorates.

The same applies to anything you’ll rely on more heavily during winter. Firewood needs somewhere dry and well ventilated, animal housing may need repairs or additional protection, and equipment that becomes difficult to use in wet or cold weather is worth checking now.

None of these jobs are particularly glamorous, but there’s a real benefit to doing them before they become urgent. A few hours spent repairing a gate or organising a wood store in September can save considerable frustration several months later.

Change Your Own Pace Alongside the Garden

Preparation is only one part of the transition. Autumn also gives us an opportunity to change how we spend time outside. The summer garden can be demanding. There’s watering, weeding, harvesting, mowing, planting and a seemingly endless list of small tasks that need attention while everything is growing quickly. By autumn, some of that pressure naturally begins to ease.

Rather than immediately replacing one list of jobs with another, allow some of that time to disappear.

Take a walk around the garden without a particular task in mind. Notice which trees are beginning to change colour, where the first leaves are collecting and how the light looks different in the late afternoon. Listen for the changes in birdsong and notice how much quieter the garden can feel compared with the height of summer.

It’s easy to overlook these things when every trip outside is connected to something that needs doing, but they’re part of what makes living with the land so rewarding.

There’s also a tendency to think of autumn as a period of decline, as though the garden is simply losing everything it had gained during summer. But the crops that are ready now are different from those we enjoyed a few months ago. Apples, pears, squash, potatoes, brassicas, beans and stored onions lend themselves to different meals and different ways of cooking. The garden begins to provide food that suits cooler evenings, while preserving and storing what remains from summer creates a connection between the two seasons.

This can be a good time to make soups from surplus vegetables, bake with apples, dry herbs, preserve fruit or simply cook slowly with whatever is available. Fallen leaves can be collected for leaf mould, while the compost system can continue working as the garden becomes quieter. The changing season can influence the way we eat and work without needing to become another rule to follow.

Embrace the Transition!

Perhaps most importantly, not every autumn job needs to be done immediately. There’s value in allowing some parts of the garden to change naturally. Seed heads can remain standing, leaves can be left in suitable areas and some plants can provide food and shelter for wildlife throughout the colder months. A garden doesn’t need to be completely tidy to be well cared for.

The same is true of the wider homestead. There will always be another improvement that could be made, another shed that could be reorganised or another job that could be added to the list. Autumn preparation should make the coming months easier, not leave you exhausted before they’ve even begun.

The move into autumn is one of the most noticeable changes in the year, particularly when you spend much of your time outdoors. The light fades earlier, temperatures begin to fall and the landscape gradually takes on different colours and textures. But alongside that change comes harvest, preparation, planting and the chance to approach the land differently.

Do the jobs that genuinely matter. Bring in what needs protecting, preserve what you can, plant for the seasons ahead, repair the things that need attention and make sure the homestead is ready for wetter and colder weather. Then leave some time to experience the season itself.

Homesteading isn’t about keeping everything in a permanent state of productivity. The land changes, and our relationship with it has to change too. After the intensity of summer, the cooler months offer a chance to slow down, take stock and appreciate a different side of the place we’ve spent so much time working on.

Winter will arrive soon enough. For now, there’s still plenty to harvest, plenty to prepare and plenty to enjoy in the turning of the season.

What's one thing you are most anticipating at this time of year?