Frost is near. Here’s what you should be doing now in your yard.

The leaves on the ground are the clearest sign that we are approaching cold weather and the end of the outdoor growing season. There are still raspberries to be gathered, apples to ripen and perhaps a couple of more weeks for potatoes and Brussels sprouts to grow and sweeten, but you need to harvest the rest of your gardens and probably should do it now. And it is time to clean up.

Let's start with those leaves. I have some great news. Things have changed. Conventional wisdom used to insist on raking up every single one lest they somehow kill grass underneath. I am here to tell you that, finally, experts have come to the conclusion that such "wisdom" was not wise. Leaves are nature's way of obeying the law of return. It is the way plants return the nutrients they used to grow to the soil. That way, the experience can be repeated the following year. Remove these leaves from your yard by raking up leaves and you are effectively starving your plants.

So, without question, leaving leaves is the way to go. No raking needed! And here you have two choices. When we first started this practice, the advice was to run the leaves over with a mower before you put it away for the season. Mulching up these leaves makes them more accessible to bacterial decay. This, in turn, should make them disappear faster.

However, the more I experiment, the more convinced I am that you don't even have to mulch with the mower. Winds during the fall and winter spread leaves out. Under the trees, where the leaf layer can really get thick, is an area that should be covered with mulch at all times, anyhow. Second, if we get any snow cover at all, there will be a zone just below it where heat is trapped and the temperatures allow for decay all winter long. By spring, most leaves are gone. Those that are not can either be mulched then or, if you really must, be raked up. The bottom line: Your lawn won't die. Really.

Do gather some leaves for your compost pile and to use as mulch on your perennials beds and under shrubs. (Annual and vegetable gardens prefer a green mulch such as grass clippings or straw for the winter.) Save a few bags of leaves for next spring's mulching. You will find bags and bags to collect from your neighbors both now and in the spring.

[Alaskans, go forth and plant spring bulbs]

And, speaking of conventional wisdom, it has finally caught up with the no-till movement. Do not rototill your garden this fall no matter your traditional practice or your belief that it helps to mulch in organic matter. First of all, if you want more organic matter in your garden, put it on the top and the soil food web organisms will move it into the soil. Second, you can't see it, but if you are an organics practitioner (and who growing food wouldn't be?), there is an extensive fungal network in your soil that is pumping carbon into it. This network does not do well when rototilled!

Next, some folks have planted a fall cover crop to improve soil. Others are asking if it is too late to plant one this weekend. It generally takes three weeks for cover crop plants to germinate and start adding benefit to the soil. Do we have three weeks before our yards are hit by killing frosts? You decide. I can't.

However, we all know it is coming, the frost. As you go about your yard, pick up the watering tools, pots and anything else that shouldn't be laying around under leaves all winter long. I doubt you will need to water much, so you might want to consider draining hoses and putting them away. Make sure all automatic timers are taken off outdoor faucets and drained, too.

Jeff’s gardening calendar

Anchorage area tree and pest problem help: I stand corrected! There is some help from the Anchorage Extension office in identifying tree problems, invasive weeds and pests. Specimens of concern can be brought by the new office location, 1840 Bragaw St., Suite 100. Submit pictures for identification through an online pest portal at on.adn.com/2wlJMGC.

Garlic workshop: Now is a great time to get garlic in the ground for next year. Plant in a garlic bed at the Alaska Botanical Garden so you can go home and try it yourself. 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29. $30 for members, $35 for nonmembers. Call 907-770-3692.

Nurseries: Spring bulbs for sale, along with indoor supplies.

Indoor grow shops: We have several now and they carry all manner of lights and equipment for growing vegetables, cannabis and other herbs, flowers and houseplants indoors.

Spring flowering bulbs: Buy and plant now.