Preparing your Garden for Winter

By Mark J. Donovan

Winterizing your garden in the fall is an important step to making sure your garden planting in the spring time is successful.

When the fall foliage has begun to appear it is time to prepare your garden for winter.

Start preparing your garden for winter by removing the old dead plants from the garden soil. Make sure you remove all of the plants including their root systems. Remove them from the garden entirely or pile them on top of the garden to decay.

Ideally you should remove the old plants from the garden and place them in a compost pile. Leaving old plant debris in the garden creates a refuge for rodents and insects. Also, if the plants are diseased it is important to remove them from the garden.

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.

Use some of the fallen leaves to your garden’s advantage. Leaves are high in nutrients and by tilling them into the garden you can improve your garden’s soil.

Don’t waste your money by putting fertilizer into your garden in the fall time. It is also bad for the environment. Without plants in the garden there is nothing to absorb the fertilizer. Consequently it washes away into the local creeks and wetlands causing harm to them.

Check your garden’s soil pH level and see if you should add lime or sulfur to it. Fall is an excellent time of the year to add lime or sulfur. Broadcast the lime or sulfur into the garden and then till them into the soil.

Tilling your garden in the fall time is also good for another major reason. Tilling the garden in the fall time helps to destroy any insect larvae in the soil.

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. In the spring, till the cover crop into the soil about 1-2 weeks before you plan to plant.
With these few garden winterizing tips, your garden is prepared for another great planting in the spring.