It may not feel much like fall yet. Not even close.

The afternoons are still quite warm, the ground is still dry in places, and we’re probably not going to be wearing sweaters around here anytime soon. But September is a good time to start thinking about what we want our lawns, landscapes, gardens, pastures and wildlife areas to look like when October arrives.

Fall is also a good time to take a hard look at your landscape.

If you have plants that struggled through this summer, don’t automatically replace them. Figure out what happened first. Was it lack of water? Poor drainage? Too much shade? A pest? A disease? Or did the plant simply not belong in that particular location?

Fall is also an excellent time to prepare garden beds and begin planting many cool-season vegetables. But don’t get in a hurry. Soil moisture still matters, and young transplants need attention until their root systems become established. Too little water can cause problems, but soaking-wet soil can be just as damaging.

For those of us with a little more pasture than garden, there are some things to be thinking about there too.

Pastures need a walk-through. Look at how they have recovered from the summer heat and drought, check fences and livestock water, and keep scouting for fall armyworms. If you’re planning winter pasture, now is the time to be thinking about seed, soil preparation and planting conditions rather than waiting until the last minute.

And if you manage wildlife habitat or food plots, October will be here before we know it. Soil testing, choosing the right location, getting equipment ready and having seed on hand are things that are much easier to deal with before the day you intend to plant.

The same is true for our landscapes.

Check the irrigation system. Look at your trees and shrubs. Clean up problem areas. Add mulch where needed. And start making a list of plants you’d like to add this fall.

We spent much of this summer trying to keep plants alive through heat and drought. Fall gives us an opportunity to do something different.

We can prepare.

We can get our gardens ready. We can evaluate our landscapes. We can check our pastures. We can get our food plots ready.

Fall is coming.

By Cary Sims, Extension Agent, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Angelina County

Editor’s note: This article originally referred to an upcoming plant sale. It has been edited for clarity.