Heads Up! There's work to do.

Sandy and loamy soil will absorb water much more quickly and will need more to reach that same moisture level at shovel depth. Check, don't guess. Too much is, in many cases, worse than not enough, especially in clay soil.

Though our fall has been longer and warmer than most, we have no good clue (just a lot of folk wisdom) about whether we will have a warmer or colder winter than normal. All we can do is hope for good snow cover once the ground freezes since that's our very best insulation. Mulching tender or newly planted plants is our defense against an open winter without much snow. You can put it on any time now since the ground is getting colder, or you can wait and put it down in December, even if you have to throw it down on the snow. The need is to keep the soil cold during late winter daytime thaws. If we are growing zone hardy plants they can stand the cold, but their roots can be torn by the heaving that the freeze/thaw cycles cause.

Do it slowly so the water will all soak in instead of run off. Better to do it in a couple of shorter sessions than all at once. The next day, dig a hole and see how well you did. Is it now moist to a full shovel depth?

All right! Now you can put away the hoses for the winter.

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