As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, you’ll probably be spending less time outdoors, which means less time in the garden. While there won’t be the joy of watching things grow from seed to flower to fruit, there is still plenty of work to do.

Some people even argue that fall preparation is the most important thing you can do for a happy, productive garden in the spring. While the work is not as glamorous, these simple steps can help ensure produce next year.

Clear away all of the garden debris. Removing debris gets rid of places where pests might try to overwinter. It will also keep diseased materials out of your garden and compost.

Fall is an excellent time to incorporate compost or other organic matter into your soil. It will have time to decompose in place, providing a boost directly to your soils. If you want to keep fertilizing through the year, switch to a winter fertilizer, which is high in potassium and low in nitrogen. This will promote root growth instead of above-ground development pushed by nitrogen.

While you’ll want to wait for heavy pruning of your trees and shrubs until they have gone fully dormant, you can clear out dead and diseased material in the fall, preventing it from spreading. Dip shears in a diluted bleach solution in order to prevent the disease from spreading and prune back at least six inches from any diseased area.

Mark your perennials and bulbs. If you’ve got a large garden, it can be difficult to remember exactly where your plants will be coming up. This has led some gardeners to dig up perfectly good bulbs that they actually enjoy in pursuit of the next year’s plans.

Gardening is often an act in patience, and you don’t want to undermine your own work.

In addition to taking care of your plants and your beds, you’ll want to take care of your garden tools. Remove caked mud from the blades of your tools with a little steel wool, and then prepare a mixture of lubricating oil and sand. You can keep your blades and other metal garden tools in good shape by plunging them into this mixture. It will keep your tools clean, sharp and devoid of rust as long as you keep the mix in a cool, dry place for the winter. If you’ve still got tools with wooden handles, you can use linseed oil to keep them from drying out in the winter.

There are countless things to be done in the garden year-round. Don’t let a little autumn wind keep you from the kind of fall garden improvement that will pay big dividends in the spring.

Whether you are gardening for beauty and color or hardy vegetables, a few garden chores now will pay off later with healthier, happier plants and a more robust garden.