Garden Preparation During the Winter Months

Garden maintenance doesn’t end when the last vegetable is harvested. Preparing your garden for spring is a winter-long process that can help make your spring planting experience easier.

Composting

Create a compost pile and fill with all your raked leaves and broken vegetable matter, while keeping plant seeds and weeds to a minimum. Keep building your compost pile through the fall, winter, and early spring months before planting season, allowing it time to build up and break down.

Soil Maintenance

Sift the soil in your garden beds and pots to eliminate old roots, rocks, and unwanted seeds and weeds. Add compost do the soil if you want. In early spring, add any new soil needed, then cover with black tarp and let the sun kill any weeds or weed seeds before planting.

Trellis and Bed Maintenance

Before spring, inspect any garden timbers like borders, trellises, rails, and other wood surfaces for rot or damage. Also install any new trellis and support systems for vines, climbing plants, and delicate stems. Remove any rotten string or rusty wire and string new to form supports; replace any damaged bamboo poles or garden stakes, too.

Getting your garden into the best possible shape for spring planting should include a little fall and winter effort on your part. Investing a little time well before planting season will keep spring’s focus where it should be: planting seeds and seedlings.