Winter Garden Chores
As the weather gets chillier, staying indoors and sipping a hot cup of tea beside a warm fire seems like the best idea. But just because it’s getting colder outside doesn’t mean you can just forget about the upkeep of your garden. Here are seven garden chores you need to finish before the frost hits.
Chore 1: Finish Cleaning Up
If you’ve been a diligent home gardener and did your fair share of fall cleanup, chances are you’ve already cleared your garden of debris, furniture, gardening pots, planters, and tools. (I forgot the bird bath and it froze and broke 🙁 )
As winter draws near, be sure to finish clearing your garden. Collect cages, trellises, containers, and bird baths. Be sure as well to hang up your hose to prevent mold and mildew from developing.
Chore 2: Dig Up Annuals
You shouldn’t forget about clearing away annual plants from your beds when doing your Garden Chores in preparation for winter. Plants such as poppies and sweet peas may be beautiful in the summer when they’re in full bloom but they aren’t hardy enough to survive the cold winter months.
You’re better off digging up the remainder of these plants and adding them to your compost pile so they can serve your garden better.
Chore 3: Fertilize Your Lawn
The growing and harvest season can deplete the soil in your garden of nutrients. Winter is a great time to replenish and restore the health of your soil to encourage new growth in the coming seasons.
Begin by raking the soil to loosen and aerate it and then apply the needed fertilizer. Follow this up with a layer of well rotted manure, compost, loam, and sand.
By the time spring rolls around, your garden patch will be ready to grow a new batch of healthy flowers, trees, and shrubs.
Chore 4: Remove Weeds
No matter what season it is, weeds are a nuisance to your garden. Before the frost hits, be sure to remove all the weeds from your flower beds, lawn, and pots so that when the weather gets warmer, you won’t have such a huge task to face.
You can use a combination of manual and chemical weeding methods to ensure that your other plants are not harmed in the process.
Chore 5: Cover Young Trees and Outdoor Plants
The extreme cold and wind can damage young trees and other outdoor plants in your garden. To prevent frost or freeze injury in your plants, be sure to cover them throughout the winter months. Use materials such as fleece, straw, bracken and hessian, held in place by a wire netting structure. You can also use polythene to prevent rotting.
Chore 6: Trim Perennials
Unlike annuals, frost hardy perennials can and will survive the winter frost. However, since they are hardy, they can also grow aggressively in the winter and take over your whole garden. To prevent this from happening, be sure to prune them at the soil level and discard the trimmings properly.
Chore 7: Compost and Mulch
Keeping the soil in your garden from the cyclical freezing and thawing during winter is crucial. To maintain the temperature of the ground, be sure to add a layer of compost and mulch as insulation. Not only will it protect your plants from the frost but it will also supply the soil with the nutrients it will need to help it regenerate.
It’s not hard to complete these garden chores, but they are something that will help you and your garden. Do you have other tips to share? Did I forget something? Please let me know in the comments below.
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