The Simple Winter Garden Prep That Gives You Healthier Soil for Spring
When winter weather arrives and your plants begin to die or go dormant for the winter, don’t just leave your garden to fend for itself. Winter garden prep is key to having a successful spring. Spending an afternoon clearing out spent perennials and diseased plants, removing and storing sensitive bulbs, and adding a layer of mulch to protect the roots of annuals from frost will pay off come planting season. Ahead, learn how to winterize a garden from some of the experts in the field.
When Do I Winterize My Garden?
You can start preparing your garden for winter as early as mid fall, but if your garden is still producing, you can wait until after the first hard freeze to get started. Follow the winter gardening checklist below to prep your garden for cold weather.
Prepare Your Garden for Winter
Cleaning out your garden helps to prevent fungi and insects from overwintering (or surviving the winter) in the plant debris, hurting soil health and causing problems when you go to reopen the garden in the spring.
What plants do I remove?
Most people take a scorched earth approach and clear all plants out of the garden. Gardening influencer @westcoastseedstv recommends a different approach:
Annuals: Remove all spent vegetables, including tomatoes, beans and squash, and any annual flowers, such as marigolds and zinnias, to prevent pests from overwintering in your garden.
Diseased perennials: Remove any perennials that show signs of diseases, including mold, slimy leaves, and pest infestation. Some pests, including borers and cabbage worms can overwinter then feast on your new plantings in the spring, so get them out of your garden. Dispose of pest-infested plants in the trash can to avoid infecting your compost pile.
Weeds: Weed out the garden when putting it to bed to prevent weeds from overwintering and spreading more seeds. Send weeds to the trash and not the compost bin to prevent their roots and seeds from spreading.
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What plants do I keep?
Healthy perennials: Cut perennials back so that the stems are a few inches above the soil. Leave sedum and coneflower plants standing as their seed heads provide food to birds during the winter months.
Tender bulbs: Dig up bulbs from cold-sensitive perennials, including dahlias, gladiolus, begonias, and cannas. Store the bulbs indoors in a dry place for the winter then replant in the spring.
Good debris: Leave fallen leaves from trees, grass clippings, twigs and seed heads in your garden. They act as natural fertilizer while also serving as shelter for valuable pollinators like honeybees and butterflies.
Why Add Mulch?
Adding a layer of mulch once you clean out your garden is worth the work. Gardening influencer @RealFarmerJeff recommends adding a one-inch layer of compost followed by two to three inches of organic material. The best mulch for winter garden insulation includes straw, leaves, or wood chips.
Adding mulch has a number of advantages:
- It helps insulate the soil, protecting the roots of your perennials against hard freezes.
- Mulch prevents soil frost heave that can pull the roots of your perennials out of the ground.
- A layer of mulch also helps the soil retain moisture, so the roots of perennials don’t dry out.
- It serves as a barrier that prevents weeds from overwintering.
- Mulch is an organic material that adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down, prepping it for spring plantings.
Related: How to Mulch Fallen Leaves on Your Lawn for Healthier Grass and Gardens
Store Gardening Equipment
Freezing temperatures can destroy your gardening equipment, which is why @westcoastseedstv says it’s so important to gather and store it prior to the first hard freeze. Here’s how to clean garden tools for winter storage:
- Garden hoses: Garden hoses can become brittle and crack during winter months. Drain your garden hose, remove all attachments, then coil and store them in a dry place indoors, such as a garage, shed, or basement. Winterizing your outdoor faucets and draining your irrigation system for winter is also important.
- Ceramic pots: Ceramic pots can shatter when the wet soil they’re holding freezes and expands. Empty ceramic pots then store them in a shed or garage.
- Gardening tools: Clean gardening tools thoroughly then apply a light coating of mineral oil or linseed oil to the metal parts using a cloth to protect them from rust while in storage.
Planting Cover Crops in Winter
@westcoastseedstv says you can protect your garden’s soil during the winter while simultaneously enriching it for the spring by planting cover crops in the late summer/early fall. Cover crops prevent soil erosion, block out weeds, prevent soil compaction, and add nutrients to the soil. Good cover crops for your garden include clover, oats, fava beans, and winter rye. Spread seed in the winter, allow the cover crop to grow, then till it into the earth to add nutrients to the soil when you prep for new plantings in the spring.