November.

Winterize the beds

• Remove dead plants from the vegetable garden

  Overwintering squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and disease spores need somewhere to hide. Clearing dead material breaks the cycle.

• Continue raking and shredding leaves

  Shredded leaves are compost gold. Whole leaves mat down and smother lawns. Mow over piles before spreading.

• Spread manure, straw, and shredded leaves; fork under

  Compost the beds now so winter freeze-thaw cycles work it in. By April, the topsoil is enriched without any spring work.

Winterize the tools and equipment

• Oil and store gas-powered equipment

  Fuel stabilizer in the tank, an oil change if it's due, sharp blades stored dry. Come spring, the mower starts on the first pull.

• Bring in hoses and close outdoor faucets

  A hose left connected can hold water back into the house line. Disconnect at the tap, drain the hose, close the shutoff valve inside.

• Store stone and terracotta pottery

  Trapped water freezes and cracks stone. Store indoors, or at minimum flip upside-down to shed water and cover with a tarp.

Setting up next year already

• Order seed catalogs

  Catalogs arrive December through February. Get on the list now for Baker Creek, Fedco, Johnny's, Southern Exposure — the ones that sell out first.

• Set out bird feeders

  Winter birds forage the same route daily. Establish the feeders now and they'll be regulars all season, eating aphids and cabbage worms next year.

The build season — new beds, fences, gates

• Build new raised beds while ground is still workable

  November is the ideal window for adding beds: soil digs easily, nothing is growing to disturb, and if you build now the frames settle over winter with compost and cover crop working in. Rush this in spring and you're planting in raw soil.

• Build or repair the garden fence

  Deer, rabbits, groundhogs — all easier to fence out before they're active again in April. Postholes dig easily now, the garden is empty, and you can work without stepping on plants. Any month between November and February works; sooner is better.

• Install a proper gate and hardware

  Winter is when gates rot, sag, and freeze shut. Rebuild or upgrade the gate now: solid hinges, a real latch, a rabbit-proof bottom rail. You'll have a working entrance the day you need it in March.