After reaping the benefits from your vegetable garden all summer long, it is time to do some Fall clean up and prepare your garden for Winter which will in turn, give you a successful bounty next year. Your garden will need to be thoroughly cleansed of insects and disease, and nutrients will need to be replaced in the soil. I will outline some of the most important tips on preparing your vegetable garden for Winter.
Fall Cleanup
The first step is to remove any dead plants, plant stakes, trellises, and tomato cages from your garden. Dead plant material can be added to your compost, however, do not add any diseased or insect-infested plants to your compost as they will reinfect your garden next year. It’s best to destroy these diseased or buggy plants (via burning) or place them in your trash pickup bin.
Test and Amend Your Soil
Fall is the perfect time to test your soil and determine your soil’s health. Your Summer crops will have depleted many nutrients from the soil that you will need to replace before planting new sprouts in the Spring. You can easily test your soil at home by purchasing a Soil test kit.
Whether you decide to test your soil or not, you should be replenishing your garden’s nutrients after every growing season anyway. This can be accomplished by adding organic material such as compost (homemade or purchased), Organic Fertilizer
Cultivate Your Soil
I had always thought that soil cultivation occurred in the Spring. I only recently discovered the benefits of cultivating your soil in the Fall. Tilling your garden now will aerate the soil and break down that organic matter much faster. Tilling will also loosen the soil and promote better drainage, giving you groomed and dry soil that is ready for Spring planting that much sooner!
Add Winter Mulch
Winter mulch is generally only used in areas that experience freezing temperatures and differs greatly from mulch that is used during the growing season. Gardeners use mulch in the growing season to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Winter mulch is used to protect and insulate the soil and keep it at a consistent temperature. This is especially helpful when trying to keep perennial plants in a state of dormancy. Winter mulch will also give you a head start on preventing weeds in early Spring.
Winter mulch does not refer to decorative mulch that you use in your flower beds, but rather any organic material that will provide insulation such as straw or leaves. And don’t forget snow is also an excellent insulator, so if your area gets heavy snowfall then you may not need an extra thick layer of mulch.
These winterizing steps are important to maintain overall garden and soil health, but will also give you a head start on your Spring checklist!
