Top 10 Winter Garden Chores

Avid gardeners feel a sense of loss when temperatures cool and gardening activities slow. While chores may not be as abundant as those of the spring and summer gardens, fall and winter garden tasks can keep you busy and productive. As long as the soil is workable, there are necessary chores in the winter garden.

Clean up from summer. Remove all dead and dried up plant material, especially that which appeared pest-infested or diseased during the summer season. Pests and diseases can overwinter in the flowerbed and garden, reappearing next spring to cause the same problems.

Take a soil test instead of guessing what the garden needs and wasting money on amendments that are not necessary. Unneeded amendments do not improve the health of the garden and in some cases may be detrimental.

Add recommended amendments, such as sulfur, lime and organic compost. Amending the soil now allows time for amendments to settle in and change the soil for spring plantings.

Prepare for winter by planting cruciferous vegetables that fight cancer in late summer or early fall. Harvest for healthy winter meals. Some crops, such as carrots, cauliflower, garlic and onions can be over wintered for late winter or early spring harvest. Gardeners in warmer zones should plant cool season vegetables in November or December. This is their optimum growing season in the winter garden.

Mulch vegetable and flower beds, trees and shrubs to protect from winter freezes and damage from heaving. Leave a few inches between mulch and tree trunks.

Apply per-emergence weed control for a jump start on eliminating pesky competition for your plants.

Plant bare root trees and shrubs, during their winter dormancy. This allow time for a healthy root system to develop without competition from the top part of the plant. Plant these specimens at any time the ground is not frozen in the winter garden.

Prune existing trees and shrubs during the dormant period. Research each plant before pruning to make sure you won’t be removing the wood on which next years flowers and fruits grow.

Design the spring planted garden. Order new specimens from the numerous seed and bulb catalogs available free just by signing up online. Sketch the garden design in pencil, so last minute changes are easy to make.

Start seeds indoors in late winter for a money saving way to have a wider variety of flowers and vegetables. This allows you to extend the gardening season and fulfills the urge to get started with the new spring garden.

More from this contributor:

Growing Blueberries in Gardening Zone 7

Helleborus Orientalis for Wondrous Winter Blooms

Starting Seeds Indoors

Sources:

National Gardening Association: NGA Plant Finder

Washington State University: Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardens

Web M.D. The Super-Veggies: Cruciferous Vegetables


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