Fall is always kind of weird in Indiana. We get super chilly days and other days where you'd think we were still in the heat of mid-summer. But, regardless of what the weather says, it's time to start preparing our garden for winter.
It's always bittersweet, whether we choose to extend our garden season or button up early, to put the gardens to bed. I'm so incredibly grateful for a productive season that has provided us with plenty of preserved food to sate us over the cold, winter days. But, I thrive on my visits to the garden, even taming the weeds. I enjoy the warm sun, the smell of the earth, and the joy that growing and harvesting give me.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, even the earth needs a break. Time to rest before spring brings new life peeking through the soil. We have our garlic planted, and some tulip and daffodil bulbs planted to spring up as soon as the weather begins changing. But, for now, the soil will lay dormant free of the beautiful colors that spring and summer bring us.
10 Tips to Prepare Your Garden for Winter
Clean Up the Garden
Now is the time to clean out all of the plants in the garden. While it would be easiest to just let them sit there and decompose, don't. It's best to remove all old plants from the garden.
Why? Because plants can harbor diseases and pests that can just make gardening more difficult come spring.
Once the plants are removed, you can add them to your compost pile, or even simply bury them under the soil, as long as the plants are disease free. If they're diseased, it's best to add them to your bonfire pile.
Remove the Weeds
Not only do you need to remove the spent plants from the soil, you should also remove all of the weeds as well. This will help keep the weeds under control next spring. Leaving them is just asking for more problems next year.
After digging them up and removing them, resist the urge to add them to the compost bin. A lot of invasive weeds can remain viable in your compost heap. Instead, opt to burn them with your autumn bonfires or place them in a weed pile far, far away from well... everywhere.
If you have some far-gone sections of the garden that you simply can't remove all the weeds from, that's ok. You can cover these areas with black plastic or thick cardboard. Leave it there all winter until you're ready to plant come spring. This will help smother out the contenders and keep new weeds from sprouting in the spring.
Prep The Soil
Autumn is a fantastic time to test and improve your soil. While you can add soil amendments in the spring, adding them in the fall has several benefits. Adding things like manure, compost, gypsum or the like now can allow it to naturally work in; becoming biologically active and enriching soil health by spring.
Adding these things in the fall as well as tilling (if you till) also not only saves you time when you're super busy in the spring but also can help with drainage issues (as far as tilling is concerned).
If you choose to amend your soil in the fall, you'll want to cover the bed with plastic so that the amendments don't wash down below the root zone before you have planted.
Add a Layer of Mulch
Mulch helps prevent soil erosion as well as preventing weeds, adding nutrients, and maintaining adequate moisture. And fall is a fantastic time to add a decent layer of it to your garden beds.
Mulch can also help maintain the root vegetables that you're growing for a later fall or early winter harvest as it helps ease the transition to colder weather and helps the plants make that transition a bit easier.
Simply cover your garden beds in a layer of good mulch about 2" to 3" deep. You can choose anything from hay or straw to leaf mulch or grass clippings. Just ensure that your mulch is from a clean source that hasn't treated the mulch with chemicals that could kill your garden and you're good to go.
Plant Garlic
Now is the time, folks. Get your garlic planted before the ground freezes!! Plant individual cloves about 4" deep, 6" apart, and cover them with a nice, thick layer of the aforementioned mulch. You can see the whole step-by-step process of how to grow garlic.
Review Your Growing Season (and plan for next year)
Pull out your garden journal and start taking notes while things are still fresh in your mind. What worked? What didn't? What yielded more than adequate amounts? What could you have planted more of? What pests or diseases did you really struggle with?
Also, keep track of your first and last frost dates in your journal to help you plan planting dates and maturity dates within your growing season window a bit more accurately.
You can use all of this information to help prepare your plan for next year to have an even more bountiful garden and harvest and not feel overwhelmed.
Make Garden Expansions
Adding in new raised beds or preparing a new garden bed in a new section of ground now can save you tons of time in the spring as well as give you the opportunity to get things prepped and amended a bit early enough for it to make an impact on your growing season.
Also, finding soil on sale is a lot easier in the fall. Many places have quality soil for sale whether bagged or bulk because most people have slowed down on purchases in that category, which means you can typically get it cheaper.
This is also a great time to find local compost to add a layer to the top of those new beds! Mulch them when you're finished and they'll be ready and waiting come spring!
Clean & Sharpen Tools
If the chore of keeping your garden tools sharp and well-oiled fell to the wayside when you were waist deep in tomatoes to can, you're not alone.
If this chore got away from you this harvest season, now is the time to make sure things are all sharp, cleaned, oiled, and put away so they'll be fresh and ready to work in the spring.
You'll want to begin by washing the tools to remove all of the dirt and debris. Next, use sandpaper or a wire brush to remove any difficult debris or rust. Then, sharpen shovels, hoes, and pruners using a file and a whetstone for pruners. Lastly, put some machine oil on a rag and gently wipe the surfaces. Put them away knowing they'll be ready as soon as the ground thaws.
Clean, Sanitize and Store Seed Trays and Pots
Any pots that aren't in use, transplant pots you haven't done much with since putting plants in the garden, and seedling trays can be washed out, disinfected, and stored until next spring if you haven't already done this.
Taking these steps can help prevent disease spread, which no one wants, so it's worth your while.
Empty them of any extra soil, wash them with some warm, soapy water, and then simply spray them with some hydrogen peroxide and let everything sit for 20 minutes. Dry them and make sure they're completely dry before storing them.
Take Care of Compost
Add some of your compost to the garden, then make sure that your bin or pile is covered. We currently compost in piles, so we simply take a thick layer of straw and add it to the top before the snow starts falling.
Enjoy the Season
Now, everything is buttoned up and you can enjoy the season. Take the time to rest and enjoy the rest the slower, shorter days are providing you with. Plan, reflect, enjoy the fruits of your labor from your freezer and pantry and just enjoy the slower season.
If you're looking for ideas on how to reconnect with your food, nature, and the heritage way of life, you've come to the right place.
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