Taking Care of Your Garden Plants During Winter
Even as winter season comes around, not as many people know how to tend to plants until spring. However, if you know the basics, and have the right techniques, winter gardening is not a big problem. This simple guide will make winter gardening easy, and will teach you how to tend to plants.
Gather All of Your Crops, and Make Sure to Save Them
Before the first frost, you have to make sure to gather all crops from the garden. Once those crops are picked, fruits and veggies have to be stored right! For freezing preservation, fruits like tomatoes, and apples should be kept above zero. If you're not up to freezing, then you can can or pickle such a harvest to save for the harvest season. This will then allow you to reap the harvest all winter long.
Remove Weeds from Your Garden
Weeding is very simple and a very important step in preparing a garden for winter. Weeds can act as a shelter to pests and infections that can harm your plants during winter. Weeds greatly reduce competition for limited available nutrients, and can assist in making your garden flourish during cooler temperatures. You can use a hoe, or for larger areas, you may rent a lawn mower with a bagger attachment.
Analyze Your Soil
Soil testing is a tremendous step that can be taken to know what nutrients your soil has lost before winter. Professional agronomists can assist you in measuring the soil’s pH, nutrients, and organic matter. Amending your soil with the necessary additions can help your plants tremendously in preparing for winter.
Incorporate Organic Matter Into the Soil
Distributing organic matter into the soil such as, compost or manure, enhances the health and fertility of the soil. Organic matter can improve soil structure, and also, help retain moisture and prevent soil erosion. If animal manure is not available, green manured cover crops such as, ryegrass and clover, can improve the soil and enhance soil quality.
Plant or Cover Bare Soil with Mulch
To minimize soil erosion and for soil health and winter improvement, use mulch or plant cover crops. Mulch encourages moisture retention and diminishes weed growth while also safeguarding root systems. For cooler areas, cover crops such as ryegrass, fescue, and clover work well.
Cut Back Most Perennials
Perennials should be cut back for winter rest and energy savings. Do remove dead or sick plants to stop any disease spread. Winter survival is crucial, and so is for vigorous growth, which occurs as well.
Prune Trees and Shrubs
During the time between now and winter, pruning the trees and shrubs helps to reduce the amount of damage caused to them from snow and ice. Make sure to do away with any dead or broken limbs and branches as these are more prone to breaking when covered with snow. Pruning improves the flow of air and allows sunlight to penetrate the lower branches, which helps to reduce infection.
Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs
The best time for planting bulbs that bloom early in spring such as tulips, daffodils, and crocuses, is in the fall. Remember to plant bulbs in well-drained soil and mulch the soil to protect them from harsh freezing temperatures. Bulbs will be able to root well even in freezing cold temperatures. It is important to note that, unlike spring and summer, fall is not the best time to plant bulbs.
Shut Down Your Sprinkler System
Letting the system run on during winter can cause broken pipes and water damage, which can be very difficult to fix. Make sure to run the sprinkler system and drain any excess water left in the system so the pipes do not freeze. Taking the time and maintenance to winterize your sprinkler system can save you from a big headache when spring comes around.
Organize and Sanitize Your Equipment
Winter is the time when most people put away gardening tools. Remember to clean your tools before storing them. Sanding tools such as shovels, trowels, and containers to very good condition and cleaning them prevents the spread of bacteria. It guarantees that tools will be available and ready when the time of the season comes when they will be used the most.
Shield Frail Plants From The Cold With Frost Cloths
Some plants might require some extra TLC such as additional shields like frost cloths or cloches. These items shield the plant and keep it from the freezing temperatures. This is very crucial with very delicate or recently planted vegetables.
If You Are Interested in Shopping for Plants, TN Nursery is the Place to Go!
As the weather gets colder, many people become anxious about the winter preparation of their gardens. Don’t overthink it! It is a snap to make sure the plants are kept useful throughout the winter in order to bloom in spring! If you are looking for winter blooming plants, you can buy the supplies for blooming plants, along with other supplies, in order to prepare for the winter blooming. Visit TN Nursery and make sure to grab everything you need!
FAQs
What to do for your garden in winter?
In winter, it’s very crucial to get rid of cold temperatures with mulching. This includes covering delicate plants. Make sure the garden soil is more suitable for warming up in spring! It is necessary to also finish harvesting, get rid of weeds, and run checks on soil to do some amendments on it.
What is the 70/30 rule in gardening?
This is when 70 percent of the gardening is attributing to the right plants while the rest 30 percent is care for the plants. It means, make sure the plants are appropriate for the space and they will grow.
What is the 3 year rule in gardening?
This states that every plant should rest for 3 years before it can grow roots. It most especially applies for perennials and shrubs, which may take a while to show how well they can do in the environment.
How do you winterize your vegetable garden?
Cleaning debris, applying mulch, and protecting certain plants makes up the process of winterizing a vegetable garden. You can place plastic or row blankets over beds to keep frost out and the soil warm. Some winter cover crops such as ryegrass could also be sown to improve soil quality.
Are you supposed to cut back plants for winter?
Most perennials and shrubs do best if you trim back plants for winter. It enhances the overall health and readiness of the plant. Some, like ornamental grasses, can be left alone; they add a nice touch to a winter scene and provide camouflage for birds and other wildlife.
What is the 3-hour gardening rule?
The 3 hour gardening rule is a self-management strategy that makes recommending that every gardener should spend a minimum of 3 hours a week gardening. Undertaking this amount of gardening work keeps a gardener up to a minimum standard of performing maintenance activities such as weeding, pruning, and harvesting, leading to a healthy garden throughout the year.
