Is it time to prepare your garden for the winter?

Or, do you believe that when the weather starts getting colder and the leaves start falling to the ground, it’s time to put away the gardening tools?

Will you wait until next spring to work on your garden again?

If so, here’s why this belief is incorrect and can hinder a successful harvest next year.

Winter is just as important as springtime to maintain your garden’s health and ensure yourself a good crop for the following year. You may think that preparation will be arduous and take too long, but realistically, it can take less than one day to prepare your garden for the upcoming winter.

Get ahead of the frost and prepare your garden for the winter

When night temperatures drop to less than forty-five degrees Fahrenheit for four consecutive days or longer, or if frost is in the forecast for your area (generally, in late October or November), this is the signal that it’s time to begin preparing your garden.

Evaluate the recent health of your garden

Start by evaluating the design of your garden, checking which plants grew well in the last season, and which plants did not fair so well. Autumn is an ideal time to assess and decide which perennial plants will you want to keep growing in you garden next year, and which ones you’ll let go of.

Choose your winter plants

It is also a good time to choose which new plants you want to grow. If you want to make your garden more colourful and healthier, focus on planting hardier plants during the fall so that they can endure the winter months.

Following is a list of some plants that should do well if planted in autumn:

• Rudbeckia (their various names are: Black-eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy, and Yellow Ox Eye)
• Aster Novi-Belgii
• Japanese Anemone
• Panicle hydrangea
• Endive
• Escarole
• Brussels sprouts

You can purchase the plants or many of the seeds online or at your local nursery.

The next steps to prepping your garden for the winter…

Clean, sweep and pull

After you finish planting, the next preparation step is to clean up your garden.

Start by pulling out any weeds that may have sprung up and rake the ground of any fallen leaves.

This action is preventative, as some weeds and rotten leaves can host insects and diseases that might be harmful to your garden.

It’s also a good idea to purge your garden of spent annual plants. If there are any plants or vegetables remaining that you know cannot withstand the upcoming winter weather, then harvest them at this time.

Trim and prune

When autumn has come and gone, the leaves will have completely fallen off your trees, exposing any rotten branches.

Even though it’s not necessary for your garden’s health, it might still be helpful to have a preventative strategy in place.

By trimming off the rotted branches, you can prevent them from spreading disease to the rest of the tree or dropping on the ground plants from decay.

Protect your garden from the winter elements

Consider protecting your garden’s younger trees by wrapping them with something like burlap and supporting them with stakes. It will help them endure the winter winds and cold.

Putting mulch over your garden for the winter can be a beneficial approach in protecting your plants from the effects of sudden temperature changes and heavy snow.

You can purchase the mulch from a local nursery, or you can make your own organic mulch by using about five inches of shredded bark, pine needles, or a variety of other natural materials.

Be careful not to mulch your garden too early, because it’s the perfect environment for some insects that may still be alive and be able to take shelter in the mulch for the winter. Unless the insects are deemed not harmful to your plants and you don’t mind accommodating them. 😊

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