Fall Garden Tasks • Putting Your Garden to Bed for Winter

Hi, I'm Niki Jabbour, and today I want to talk about putting the vegetable garden to bed for the winter. I'll talk about tidying up, building your soil, preventing winter erosion and more. Let's get started.

The first step is to remove spent plants from the garden. Disease-free debris can be added to your compost piles and bins. But any crops affected by plant diseases should be disposed of in the trash. This helps prevent a recurrence of the disease the following year.

If I'm growing any legumes like peas and beans in my garden, I chop the plants off at the soil surface, leaving the roots to decompose in the soil. Why? Because the roots are covered in nodules that release nitrogen back into the ground as they decay.

As for the herbs in my garden, I leave cold hardy types like parsley and cilantro, covering them with row cover for winter. Warm season herbs like basil are pulled after frost, and the disease-free debris is added to my compost pile.

As a year-round vegetable gardener, I don't remove all the crops that are in my garden. I like to grow cool and cold-season vegetables for harvesting in fall and winter. So that means I have to set up season extenders like mini hoop tunnels. These mini hoop tunnels are made from #9 wire and covered with winter grade row covers like Agribon+ AG-30. They're quick to build and are ideal for cold season greens like kale, lettuce, spinach, arugula, and salad mixes.

As for root vegetables like carrots, parsnips and beets, I use a blanket of shredded leaves or straw to insulate the roots, applying it about a month before the ground freezes. This means we can continue to harvest the sweet roots all winter long.

I admit that by autumn I have slacked off just a little bit in weeding my vegetable beds, but it's so important to remove any weeds before winter, especially if they have seed pods. We don't want them scattering their seeds as one plant can produce hundreds if not thousands of seeds. Plus, weeds steal nutrients from the soil. Tackling weed removal now saves you so much future time and frustration. I like to use collinear hoe or the Connecta® Cultivation Kit which makes weeding quick and easy.

Once the garden is tidied and any weeds removed, it's time to think about building your soil. Every gardener knows that the key to high productivity and vigorous plants is healthy soil. A soil test is a good idea, especially if you haven't had one in recent years. I aim to test my soil every two years, so that I have a better understanding of what I need to add to it so my garden will thrive. Contact your local extension agency to learn more about soil testing.

To build my garden soil, I topdress my beds with compost or aged manures in autumn. This replenishes nutrients and organic matter, feeding the microbes in the soil. A 1 to 2-in layer of these materials is ideal. On top of this, I'll add a blanket of shredded leaves or straw to prevent winter soil erosion.

Another way to prevent winter soil erosion is to plant a cover crop. This blanket of green will prevent soil erosion, enrich the soil, and prevent weed growth. There are different types of cover crops you can plant, including winter rye, field peas, crimson clover, and Johnny's Fall Green Manure Mix.

Fall isn't just about cleanup. This is also the time to plant garlic. I aim to get the cloves in the ground about a month before the soil freezes. This allows the cloves to set some roots but not sprout. I plant hardneck garlic in my beds, choosing a sunny site with fertile well-draining soil.

The last fall task I want to mention, and one that is often neglected, is cleaning and storing your tools properly. As your garden chores come to an end, give your tools a little TLC to make sure they last for as long as possible. This means gathering them up, cleaning them by brushing off any bits of stuck-on soil or plants, and storing them in my garden shed until spring. Happy growing!

Top ˆ