Winterizing Garden
Winterizing your Garden is an important
step to ensuring a Healthy Garden Next Year
By: Mark J. Donovan
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When the leaves have turned color and are beginning to fall off the trees it is
time to prepare your garden for winter.
Winterizing your garden is an
important step to ensuring a healthy garden next year.
Start winterizing your garden by
removing the dead plant remnants from this year’s garden. Dig up all of the
plants, including their root systems and either remove them from the garden or
pile them on top of the garden.
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Ideally it is best to remove them and
to put them in a compost pile. Leaving old crop debris in the garden creates a
haven for rodents and insects. Also, if the plants are diseased it is important
to remove them from the garden to help prevent next year’s garden from becoming
diseased as well.
If you decide to leave the plant
remnants in the garden leave them on top of it to dry out and till them into the
soil in late fall or early spring.
Take some of the fallen leaves from
the trees and till them into the garden. By tilling the fallen leaves into the
soil in the fall time your garden will begin to absorb some of the nutrients
associated with the leaves. Leaving them on top of the garden and waiting to
spring to till them in retards the absorption of the nutrients and delays the
warming of the garden soil in the spring.
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Do not put fertilizer on your garden
in the fall. It is bad for the environment and it is a waste of your money.
Without the garden plants there is nothing to absorb the fertilizer.
Consequently it washes away causing harm to creeks and wetlands. Save your money
and apply the fertilizer in the springtime.
If you are inclined to add a chemical
to your garden in the fall time, check your soils pH level and see if you should
add lime or sulfur. Fall is an excellent time of the year to add these chemicals
if required. Simply spread them on the garden soil and till them into it.
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Tilling your garden in the fall time
is also helpful in several other ways. Regardless if you are removing the dead
plant material or not adding sulfur or lime to it, it is wise to till the garden
in the fall time. Tilling the garden in the fall time helps to destroy any
insect larvae in the soil. Also the thawing and freezing of the soil that occurs
during the winter and spring helps to break down the dirt clogs and ensures a
smoother soil for planting in the springtime.
Planting rye grass or another cover
crop is also a good idea to prevent erosion and improving your garden’s soil.
Simply broadcast it and rake it into the soil per the manufacturer’s recommended
levels. However if you do decide to plant a cover crop, you should do it earlier
in the fall season, typically before the leaves begin to fall off the trees. If
you plan to plant a cover crop start the winterizing of your garden in early
fall. In spring, till the cover crop over about 1-2 weeks before you plan to
plant, so that the cover crop plant material has a little time to breakdown and
decompose.
With these few garden winterizing
tips, your garden is prepared for another great planting in the spring.
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