What you need to do to prepare your garden for winter
Well its fall once again,
which means winter is not very far away. And as always, there is much we can do
in our gardens to prepare for winter, as well as get a jump on even some
springtime work. Now I realize that most
people don’t have an extensive vegetable garden. Maybe you don’t even have a
large flower garden. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to own only a few flower pots
and window boxes. None the less, I will try to touch base on a bit of it all.
Vegetable gardens
Now is the time to clean
up your garden. Remove all the plants that have finished producing for the
year. You may still have fall crops like brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage
etc, those are probably not done yet, and can handle a light frost or two. If you’ve had any problems with bugs/insects,
make sure you do not compost your spent plants as you will end up increasing
your problem the following year. So pull them up by the roots and discard them
properly. Also remove all the weeds you can find, this way they don’t get an
early start in the spring.
If you have any herbs in
your garden, the best thing would be to bring them into the house for the winter.
Simply dig them up (make sure to go deep enough so that you don’t disturb the
roots too much) and plant them into a pot. They should be placed in a bright
sunny spot inside, and then you can enjoy fresh herbs all winter. There are
some herbs that may come back in the spring if left outside; those are mint,
chives, thyme, oregano, sage and parsley. I can attest to the chives, oregano
and parsley as those have come back in my garden often. It’s never a 100% they
will come back, and it will also depend on the kind of winter we have. Either
way, you should cut them down before the cold sets in and enjoy them while you
can!
Once you have cleaned up
your garden, you can add your compost, fertilizer, mulch etc. Whatever your
normal routine is for the springtime, you can do in the fall. By doing this,
the nutrients have time to break down enriching your soil and it becomes
“biologically active”. Also if you till
your soil in the spring, you can certainly do so in the fall instead (though I
would probably do it once again in the spring).
By doing all this, you will save time in the spring when you want to get
in there and start planting as soon as you can!
Flower beds, window boxes, potted flowers
If you have a flower bed,
or window boxes, or pots outside, it is also time to clean those up as well. I
know it is the end of September, and you could probably wait another week or
two, but if you want to keep any of your outdoor flowers, you have to make sure
to do so before we get a good frost. Not all types of flowers do well over the
winter inside, and I am sure that unless you have a greenhouse, you probably
have limited space in which to keep them.
Here are some popular plants that do fairly well inside over the winter:
Coleus, Fuchsias, New Guinea Impatiens, Begonias, Oxalis and Geraniums. There maybe a few other types, but these are
the most common ones. When you transplant these, make sure to wash off the
plants (not the roots) gently with a garden hose (or in the sink/bathtub under
a tap). You merely want to make sure you don’t bring in any pesky insects or
bugs that may be hiding on your plants. Be sure to wash the leaves off, on top
and underneath where insects tend to hide. They will do best placed in a bright
window (south facing or east facing windows if possible) Do not fertilize
during the winter as your plants are dormant and do not require it. Watering
will depend on the size of pot, and how hot and dry your house is. Just
remember that less is usually better, so as not to rot the roots, and you can
always add water if needed. Keep them inside until spring and the risk for frost
is gone, then plant back outside.
Once you have removed the
plants you wish to keep (if any), then it is time to remove all the rest of
them. Again, you can add them to your compost if you are sure they do not have
any infestations on them. Or simply get rid of them, roots and all. After all the flowers and weeds have been
removed, add some compost, fertilizer etc and turn the soil. This will enrich
your soil and come spring time you’re good to go. If you have window boxes, or
pots, I would suggest that you remove all your plants and the soil as well,
thus allowing you to clean the boxes/pots properly of any fungus or insects
that may be lurking there. Also the soil
that is in your window boxes or pots, probably have a much depleted supply of
nutrients. This way, come springtime, a fresh batch of nutrient filled soil can
be used making your flowers happy and strong.
Dealing with trees, shrubs perennials and bulbs
Fall is the perfect time
for planting new trees and shrubs. The
weather is cool and the ground still warm enough for your roots to
develop. You should check with the place
you buy your tree or shrub to find out the size (depth and width) needed for
that particular plant as there are many factors involved with that. As with all
new plantings, make sure it gets adequate watering until the weather gets too
cold to do so. By planting in the fall, you have less worry about the plant
drying out, wilting in the heat, and even the bugs/insects are diminished.
This is also the time of
year for splitting your hostas and peonies. I will tell you from experience,
that this is hard work. Both of these
plants have somewhat shallow root balls, that when dug up, can be split (you
may have to cut into them to divide them).
Hostas are very strong and are almost foolproof to deal with, but
require more muscle to split. Simply figure out the size you want the new plant
to be, cut them and plant them in a spot with bright – medium light. Water them
well for the first few weeks, and even if they don’t look like they will make
it at first, they more than likely will be just fine.
Peonies are also easy to
transplant, but do not plant these more than 2” above the buds on the roots.
You can clearly see the buds on the top of the roots once you have lifted it
out of the garden. If you accidently burry them, no worries, the plant will
survive, but you may not get any flowers for a couple of years, and who likes
that idea!! So be careful on how deep you plant them. Also water these well,
until the first frost.
Then of course we have
bulbs, tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, etc. These should also be planted in the fall. I
suggest you do this as late in the season as possible, so that the squirrels
and other critters have less time to dig them up. There is much literature on
how to keep them from going after your bulbs, I personally have not heard of
any that truly work well. Tulips are one of the more sought after bulb, while they
normally stay away from daffodils and grape hyacinths as these bulbs can be
harmful when eaten. As a basic rule for planting your bulbs, always plant
pointy side up, and generally plant them 2-3 times deeper than the bulb size.
So if your bulb is 1 inch, plant 2-3 inches deep (as an example). There are
always exceptions, so be sure to check before planting. After planting, like
everything, water the area well.
So that’s about it for
now. I hope it helps some of you out there that love to garden as much as I do.
