It won’t be long until it is time to tuck your garden into bed for the long winter ahead. But before you do, there are some essential preparations that you should make so it is ready to bloom when spring comes around again. A lot of the work that you are going to do involves cleaning and clearing up, but it is still important that it gets done right. So, here are some top tips to get your garden winter-ready.
Clear Up Dead Plants
Many of your plants will be on their last legs soon, so you need to get these cleared out of the way so you are ready for the new ones to be planted. Old plants also have the negative effects of being a home to diseases, pests and funguses. And you don’t want insects feeding on your plants when the summer comes back around again. Burying old plants in the soil helps to improve the tilth and overall health of your garden.
Prepare the Soil for Spring
You don’t have to wait until spring actually rolls around to do activities like digging in soil amendments like manure and compost. In many climates, making these additions now gives them time to break down, enrich your soil and become biologically active. Also, this is one task that you can tick off your list which is always a relief before the busy springtime begins. Once you have added your amendments, you can cover up the bed with sheet plastic or another type of covering.
Prune Your Perennials
Now is a good time to trim back your perennial plants, though you need to make sure you choose the right ones. Just a few of the plants that benefits from an autumn pruning include fennel, rosemary, thyme, sage, asparagus and rhubarb. Once again, this is another task that saves you a good deal of time when the springtime comes again.
Plant Cover Crops
Cover crops help to reduce the soil erosion that naturally occurs during the winter months. Rye, vetch and clover are all good potential options that can do this job for you, and they also have the advantage of adding nutrients to the soil. General advice involves covering your crops one month before the first frost of the season sets in. An indoor outdoor thermostat can help to give you more information about when this will be. This is another useful activity that is worth trying.
Replenish Your Mulch
Mulching during the winter has a number of benefits including reducing water loss, defending the soil from erosion and preventing the spread of weeds. It also helps to regulate the temperature of the soil which will make the transition into winter much smoother. As the mulch breaks down, it provides fresh organic matter for your soil as well.
Getting your garden ready for winter will make things much easier when spring comes again, so try out these five techniques as a good starting point.
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