Gardening 101: Putting Your Garden to Bed for Winter, in 11 Steps
The air is getting crisper and the days shorter. While there are still cold-weather crops to be had, depending on your climate, summer crops are done and most people are ready to move on to apple picking and pumpkin hunting.
Photograph Valery Rizzo, from Grow What You Love: A Life of Tomatoes.
1. Harvest remaining summer crops.
Harvest cold-intolerant vegetables and whatever remains of your summer crops, like tomatoes and peppers.
2. Check on the perennial crops.
Remove any weeds in or near the beds.
3. Weed the beds.
A compost pile in Healdsburg, California.
Photograph by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.
4. Compost the garden waste.
Except for diseased plant matter, which should be thrown out, as home compost may not reach the required temperature to kill pathogens.
5. Do a soil test.
See what’s missing or what you may have too much of. You can’t improve your soil if you don’t know what you need.
Photograph by Justine Hand, from Gardening 101: How to Use Eggshells in the Garden.
Eggshells are an excellent way to introduce calcium carbonate into the soil.
6. Amend the soil.
This is a great time to rebuild the fertility of your soil, especially if you have heavy feeders like tomatoes. Studies now find that this destroys the soil structure.
Either with a green cover crop or with leaves or grass clippings.
7. Mulch the soil.
If your raised beds, trellises, sheds, or benches need some maintenance, now’s the time to do it.
8. Repair garden structures.
Learn how to clean your pruners here.
9. Clean and sharpen all garden tools.
Photograph by Erin Boyle for Gardenista.