The cool crisp air of autumn drifts on the winds putting the garden to sleep. Geese begin their trek to the south. Ants start to store up food for the cold months ahead. The scent of frost is heavy in the air. And the time has come to consider what to do with the garden before winter settles in. Today Farmer Nathan will share 5 tips for putting the garden to sleep for winter.
Fall can be a hard time to get motivated to do more work in the garden, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. For a bit of work now will save heavy work in the spring, making next year’s garden even more of a success! Imagine as spring arrives simply having to plant your transplants and you’re ready to go! It is my goal to help you achieve this.
1. Remove old crops
This is a tedious task at times, especially with the colossal roots of the tomato plants, the fibrous stalks of sweet corn, or the slimy stems of old lettuce. Removing the summer crops offers many advantages though! By removing the plant matter, you are removing a source of plant diseases (especially amongst tomatoes).
It provides additional brown and green matter for your compost bins to nourish your garden for years to come. And it prevents an even larger mess from having to be dealt with in the spring. One tip I have found helpful is to shred the compost prior to adding it to the compost pile. This helps it to break down faster into black gold for the garden.
2. Amend the soil
Now that your summer crops are out of the way, you are a step closer to success in putting your garden to sleep. The next step is one of my favorites when you get to feed the soil for next year. This is a perfect opportunity to empty out the compost bin of last year’s compost to make room for more plant material.
Check out your garden journal to see if any crops didn’t fare well. This can be an indicator that more amendments such as alfalfa meal, lime, or your favorite source of potassium and phosphorus. My favorite way to incorporate amendments into the garden is with a broadfork or a strong digging fork. Weeds are less likely to germinate with a light incorporation versus a stirring of the amendments as with a rototiller.
3. Cover the soil
One of the most fascinating things in the garden is how the earth does not like to be uncovered. Wherever there is a bare patch, it seems like weeds grow faster than you can say “Turnip the beets!” The earth does this to help prevent erosion, keep the soil alive, and insulate itself. It is like a blanket to keep the soil warmer to protect the life in the soil.
By covering the fall garden ourselves, the weed seeds are not able to grow due to the lack of light. My favorite means of covering the soil is with fall crops. You can read more in our post “What to grow in fall vegetable garden.” This can be a cover crop that is tilled in during the spring for added soil nutrients. Or it can be an intentional crop for harvesting. If planting a crop is not desired, shredded leaves work great as by time spring comes around. They break down so fast that you can simply mix into the soil for more food for the worms in the spring. 3-5 inches works great to smother potential weeds and keep the garden a little warmer.
4. Planning next year’s garden
Now that the garden is cleared out for putting the garden to sleep, there is a clean slate to work with for planning next year’s garden! I like to take note of what I planted this year to make sure to rotate crop locations next year. This will greatly help with pest and disease issues. If I desire to expand, winter is a great time to plan that area out as well. Here in South Carolina, I add a lot of compost to the soil to build up the organic matter. To help calculate how much to purchase, I use a mulch calculator to determine how many yards of material I need to purchase for the area.
5. Turning off the irrigation system
The last piece to putting the garden to sleep is turning off the irrigation system. Having experienced one too many burst pipes in the spring, I know how important this part is. For any round poly, we use an air compressor with an adapter to blow air through our lines. This will expel most water and prevent the pipe from bursting. If you are using drip irrigation, I like to drain out all water and roll it up to put in an insulated building. Lastly, I like to remove all above-ground sprinkler heads and take them inside to prevent them from breaking. One way to prevent the need to remove the sprinkler heads is to install a valve at the base of the pipe to release any water from the line. This will protect the sprinkler head and give you better success when using it next year.
I hope these tips help make your garden a better success next year!