Composting and Mulching

Although your yard and garden may look like it’s in a state of hibernation during the winter months, there are important things taking place all year long in the garden that contribute to the overall health of your plants. For example, your soil is active all year long, and your evergreen plants continue to use nutrients. Thus, it’s important that you replenish nutrients in the soil for the next growing season. Composting is a great way to do this.

If you compost, you should continue to monitor your compost pile during the fall and winter. Turning your compost pile and adding organic material is an important fall and winter gardening activity. You can also consider building a compost trench at this time. These trenches can be planted during the next gardening season with plants that like lots of organic material, such as beans.

If you’re not sure how to compost, you can read this excellent compost guide for more information. You can also review a large selection of products for composting here.

Mulching is another good activity for winter. Spreading out a layer of mulch over your garden will protect your garden soil from the elements and will help any plants growing in your garden. Mulch helps to insulate your plants’ roots. Additionally, mulch will keep winter weeds from taking hold. A 3-4 inch layer of organic mulch such as shredded bark or wood chips will work well. Please read this guide to mulching for more tips.

Cover Crops and Green Manure

If you live in an area with a proper climate, you can consider planting cover crops such as clover, rye or vetch. These crops can add organic material to the soil for next growing season. Legumes such as vetch will also fix nitrogen in the soil. Plant these crops in the late fall. Cover crops are also known as “green manures.” This website from Washington State University has lots of info on using cover crops/green manures.

Natural Pest Control

Late February is a good time to try out an organic herbicide. When sprinkled throughout your garden, corn gluten meal will naturally prevent annual weeds from growing from seed. Dr. Howard Garrett, the “Dirt Doctor,” highly recommends using corn gluten meal to both fertilize your plants and to prevent weeds from coming up in the spring.

Weeds that appear in the winter such as henbit and bluegrass can also be prevented with corn gluten meal. Spread it out during the late fall and early winter. Water the corn meal thoroughly after you apply it so that it won’t attract animals.

Growing Plants in the Fall and Winter

Thinking about growing plants during the fall and winter? It can be done!

An obvious pick for winter gardeners is to grow plants in greenhouses, cloches, or cold frames. These structures can help you grow a variety of plants in a controlled environment. There are greenhouses and other structures for a variety of budgets. Find out everything you need to know about growing plants in greenhouses at this excellent greenhouse guide.

Fall and early winter is a great time to plant bulbs. Bulbs can often be the first flowers to bloom in late winter and early spring. Some of the best bulbs for planting in the fall and winter include daffodils, day lilies, iris, tulips, and ranunculus. Get out and get your hands dirty planting bulbs so that you’ll be rewarded with color in the spring! The University of Illinois has a great site about planting bulbs.

Growing houseplants and windowsill gardens is another way to enjoy the winter months with plants. To properly grow plants indoors, you should have a spot that gets plenty of sunlight. You can use a variety of containers for your plants. Terrariums are also an excellent way to enjoy plants and gardening indoors. Please see this handy website on container gardens for more information on growing plants indoors.

To enjoy plants outdoors in the cooler months, try growing them in containers and raised beds. A lot of plants that wouldn’t ordinarily survive in the winter can grow well in raised beds. Why? Because the soil heats up quicker in the small space of a raised bed than in a large garden plot, so the roots are less likely to freeze. The soil also dries out quicker, so plants will not be sitting in wet soil for extended periods of time, attracting plant diseases like root rot. See this website for tips on growing plants in raised beds.

Please read the sections on growing ornamental plants and vegetables for more information on growing plants outdoors during the fall and winter.

Garden and Tool Cleanup

You can also do a lot of useful cleaning up in the garden during the fall and winter. For example, when your outdoor potted annual plants finally die off, you can recycle the potting soil. Just make sure that the plants are free of disease. Add the potting soil to your compost pile. Break up the root balls and the roots with pruners. After you’ve emptied your pots, make sure to clean them and store them properly. This is especially important for clay pots, which absorb moisture and may freeze and crack during the winter.

Cleaning up your ornamental and vegetables beds is a critical part of fall and wintering gardening. Excess debris may attract pests and diseases next season. This is especially true if you’ve noticed any evidence of plant diseases in your garden over the growing season. Many soil borne diseases can carry over until the next year. Pick up all garden debris and compost it. However, DO NOT COMPOST any plants that have been attacked by diseases! Throw diseased plant material away quickly so that diseases won’t spread.

Tool maintenance is also an important part of fall and winter gardening chores. Keeping your tools clean and properly stored during the winter will help to give them a long life and years of use. Here are some basic tips for keeping your garden tools clean.

Before you store your tools, spray them off with water to remove potentially corrosive chemicals and dirt. If you can’t remove the dirt with water, try lightly scrubbing off the dirt with a wire brush. Set your tools out to dry before you store them.

In addition to cleaning your garden tools, you should oil any moving parts on tools such as pruners and garden loppers.

Also, lubricate the wooden handles on your shovels and other tools. Because wooden handles are constantly exposed to harsh weather conditions and use, the wood can wear and start to splinter. Clean the wooden handles with water and let them dry. Apply a coat of linseed oil and let the oil soak in before you use the tools again.

You should also sharpen any tools that have a blade. For example, garden shears and pruners will work much better when kept nice and sharp. A whetstone will work for pruners, lopper, shears, etc.

Sharpen the edges of hoes, shovels, and trowels with a file, always moving the file in the same direction (away for you) as you sharpen. Keep the bevel as even as possible. If you have questions about sharpening your tools, ask a professional how to do it.

Clean your power tools including your lawn mower, tiller, etc. Dirt and potentially corrosive substances can quickly corrode the metal parts of these garden tools. A wire brush will help you to remove any dirt and debris that won’t come off with water. We also recommend an occasional washing with soap and water. Remember to let your power tools dry thoroughly before storing them.

Another important winter task is to empty any excess water out of hoses and disconnect them. Water expands as it freezes and can burst pipes and hoses.

Plan for Next Year!

Even if you don’t grow plants during the winter, you can still enjoy collecting seeds from your plants during the fall and winter and store them for next spring. Ohio State University has an interesting website with tips about plant propagation and collecting seeds in the home garden.

Also, winter is also an excellent time to read up on gardening and plan your garden for next year. You can think about what plants you’d like to grow, and how to design your garden. This website on garden design can give you some great ideas.