How to Prepare Your Garden for Winter
Bring less hardy plants inside., Clear away fallen leaves and compost them., Tidy up your perennials., Remove all dead leaves and produce from the remaining plants., Pay attention to your climate.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Bring less hardy plants inside.
Some of your plants won’t have died yet, but they won’t be strong enough to withstand the winter weather.
You’ll want to research the specific plants you have in your garden and find out which ones can be easily moved inside for the winter.
You could move them to a greenhouse, your garage, or even inside.If you do this, you’ll need to carefully dig them up and replant them into an appropriate pot.
Most pepper plants can be brought inside and will still grow for a while into winter.
Make sure you clean off the plants so no bugs travel inside.
Some other plants that can be brought inside are Aloe, Citrus, Geraniums, Impatiens, and Rosemary. -
Step 2: Clear away fallen leaves and compost them.
If you have trees anywhere near your garden, you most likely have some leaves that have accumulated.
You’ll want to gather these up and save them for composting.
A good leaf blower and mulcher saves a lot of time here.
You can begin a temporary compost pile off to the side of your garden as you prepare in the weeks leading up to winter, or you can store compost matter in a trash can or bin until you are ready to use it. , Perennials are plants that grow for more than two seasons, but they are not active during the winter.
They go into a period of dormancy.
You can help them grow fresh again in the spring by cutting them down to the level of the soil.
The root of the plant will remain and bloom again in spring.You can leave any seeds that are present for birds to eat during the winter.
Common perennials include Lilies, Black-Eyed Susans, Lavender, Ferns, and Primrose. , Go through your garden section by section, plant by plant, and pull off any leaves that are brown and any fruits or vegetables which are rotten.
You can put all of this into a bin to add as compost later on.
Dead plant matter can harbor disease or insects that will later kill your plants.
Removing all of this from the garden protects it for new growth in the spring.
If you notice obvious diseased or infested plant matter, burn this separately and don’t include in your compost.
Some people may feel that it’s easier to leave the old plants to die in the winter, but this can end up causing your garden to be worse off.
The effort it takes to clear out the old plants will pay off by preserving your garden’s health. , The exact work your garden needs, and the state it will be in come spring, will be greatly determined by what your winter is like.
If you get heavy snow, you may considered building a cover to keep all that snow off your garden.
If you have pretty mild winters, you may not need to do all that much for the garden.
For this and many other garden issues, talking to people around you who garden can be really helpful.
If you can find anyone in your area who has been gardening for years, they will know how local winter weather affects gardens. -
Step 3: Tidy up your perennials.
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Step 4: Remove all dead leaves and produce from the remaining plants.
-
Step 5: Pay attention to your climate.
Detailed Guide
Some of your plants won’t have died yet, but they won’t be strong enough to withstand the winter weather.
You’ll want to research the specific plants you have in your garden and find out which ones can be easily moved inside for the winter.
You could move them to a greenhouse, your garage, or even inside.If you do this, you’ll need to carefully dig them up and replant them into an appropriate pot.
Most pepper plants can be brought inside and will still grow for a while into winter.
Make sure you clean off the plants so no bugs travel inside.
Some other plants that can be brought inside are Aloe, Citrus, Geraniums, Impatiens, and Rosemary.
If you have trees anywhere near your garden, you most likely have some leaves that have accumulated.
You’ll want to gather these up and save them for composting.
A good leaf blower and mulcher saves a lot of time here.
You can begin a temporary compost pile off to the side of your garden as you prepare in the weeks leading up to winter, or you can store compost matter in a trash can or bin until you are ready to use it. , Perennials are plants that grow for more than two seasons, but they are not active during the winter.
They go into a period of dormancy.
You can help them grow fresh again in the spring by cutting them down to the level of the soil.
The root of the plant will remain and bloom again in spring.You can leave any seeds that are present for birds to eat during the winter.
Common perennials include Lilies, Black-Eyed Susans, Lavender, Ferns, and Primrose. , Go through your garden section by section, plant by plant, and pull off any leaves that are brown and any fruits or vegetables which are rotten.
You can put all of this into a bin to add as compost later on.
Dead plant matter can harbor disease or insects that will later kill your plants.
Removing all of this from the garden protects it for new growth in the spring.
If you notice obvious diseased or infested plant matter, burn this separately and don’t include in your compost.
Some people may feel that it’s easier to leave the old plants to die in the winter, but this can end up causing your garden to be worse off.
The effort it takes to clear out the old plants will pay off by preserving your garden’s health. , The exact work your garden needs, and the state it will be in come spring, will be greatly determined by what your winter is like.
If you get heavy snow, you may considered building a cover to keep all that snow off your garden.
If you have pretty mild winters, you may not need to do all that much for the garden.
For this and many other garden issues, talking to people around you who garden can be really helpful.
If you can find anyone in your area who has been gardening for years, they will know how local winter weather affects gardens.
About the Author
Alexis Palmer
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow home improvement tutorials.
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