Fall is officially here. For many, that means the garden has finished producing, or is close to it. There are things we should do to winterize our garden, to protect the soil and reduce our workload come spring.
The three main jobs of winterizing include: removing plants and weeds from garden beds, adding compost, and covering your soil. There are other tasks that are important as well, such as thinning your strawberry beds, pruning brambles, cleaning/sharpening/oiling your tools, washing your plug trays, etc. We can talk about the little things in a future post, but tonight we will focus on readying the beds for planting next year and protecting the soil over the winter.
- Removing plants and weeds: Remove all plants that are done producing for the year, as well as all weeds. You want to be sure to get the roots of those weeds, so they don’t come back! The roots of your vegetables are fine to stay, if you want to cut the plant at ground level. The roots will decompose and feed the microorganisms that make nutrients available to your plants. You can also remove them. If your garden is still producing, wait to remove everything – some cold hardy vegetables will withstand a light frost, extending the life of your garden for a bit of time after everything else has died. If you have a perennial bed full of strawberries, asparagus, etc. you certainly don’t want to remove those plants – focus on removing weeds. Take all of your garden residue, minus weeds that have gone to seed and any thistle, to the compost bin. If you are pulling diseased plants or those covered by pests, do not add those to the compost! Burn them or take them to another area to decompose far from your garden. Also, remove whatever produce may have been rotting in the beds.
- Add Compost: This is especially important for raised beds. Over the growing season soil is lost – organic matter breaks down, or soil is clumped in roots of weeds pulled out, or sometimes it’s just compacted down and you aren’t left with much to grow plants in. Add compost back to your soil. It will help the integrity of your soil, reduce compaction, add nutrients back in, and provide a great place to plant in next season. You can make your own compost, or purchase it.
- Cover Your Soil: Winter can be pretty harsh on bare-dirt beds. Winter snow can compact it, sunlight can bake it, and all the thaw/spring rains can leach nutrients from it. Weeds are also quick to grow and have some of the most hardy seeds around – they are the first thing to sprout in the spring. Having a cover will protect against all of these. You can plant a cover crop, such as clover (or, look into deer food plot seed mixes – they are generally mostly clover and might be more affordable than buying seed from a local grain mill). Cover crops work by covering your soil (after you have removed your plants and weeds) through the winter with a living cover, then you turn it under the following spring, before it goes to seed. Clover is especially nice because it will fix nitrogen in your soil. It does contain things that will make seeding difficult for a few weeks after turning it under (seeds probably won’t germinate), so plan to turn the soil under a few weeks before you intend to plant seed. This isn’t particularly helpful in a raised bed though, unless you can easily turn the soil yourself. Another fantastic option is a covering your soil with mulch. Finally, if you do not have access to either option, a tarp will work as well. While the tarp will not enhance your soil, it will protect it!
Of course, a perfectly cleaned up garden isn’t necessary – some beneficial bugs will hibernate in plant residue/stalks, so if you have a spot in your garden that is a little wild looking, your garden buddies will thank you.