Getting Your Garden Ready For Winter
The beauty and relaxation that your garden can provide
you and your family is certainly worth all the work you put in each year. Putting in a little extra work at the end of
the season, however, can make getting your garden ready next spring easier and
can help keep your plants healthy through the winter months. Here are a few great tips that will get your
garden ready to handle the cold and snow.
Clean Up: Though not a favorite task of any gardener,
it is a very necessary step to getting your garden ready for winter. Remove your annuals, empty and store any pots
and containers, and give your garden one last mow. Also, raking up all those leaves is one chore
all homeowners are familiar with each autumn, but they do make great mulch for
your perennials and vegetable garden, and are also a great addition to your
compost.
Plant Or Relocate Trees And Shrubs: The fall is the
best time to get new trees into the ground, or move those you have earmarked to
be relocated. The best strategy is to
choose trees that are hardy for your zone, as it makes their survival more
likely and maintenance easier. Also,
choosing evergreens and shrubs that produce berries in the winter months can
make your garden more interesting and provide activity for birds and other
wildlife.
Protect Your Trees: For new or young trees this is an
important step you'll not want to forget in winterizing your garden. Covering trees and shrubs with burlap is most
important in areas that have exposure to northwest winds and high sun. Be sure, however, not to do this too early in
the season, in order to prevent rot. It
is also a good idea to give your evergreens plenty of water to prevent burnout.
Test Soil And Mulch: After the ground freezes be sure
to add mulch to your perennial garden. This
will protect both your soil and plants through the long winter months, as well
as provide much needed nutrients for spring.
This is also a good time to test the pH of your soil to see if it is
lacking any essential minerals for the next growing season.
Plant Spring Bulbs: This is also the time of year to
get your spring bulbs into the ground. Be sure that you do this before the
first frost, and give them plenty of water when planting them.
Unlike all the work you put into your garden in
spring, winter clean-up can seem like a difficult and unrewarding task, but
with this effort you will keep your garden in tip-top shape for the growing
season ahead!
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