| Secrets To Winterizing A Garden |
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Page 1 of 2 If you're like most people it isn't the thought of winterizing your garden that gets you, it's figuring out where to start. There's just so much to do that it can sometimes be hard to know where to begin!
Well, relax. The harvest is in and putting your garden to bed, so to speak, is one of the more fun parts of gardening. You have a nice full cellar and pantry. The hard work is done, and you can relish the idea of preparing for next year's garden.
Which is the perfect place to start winterizing your garden. One of the first things you should do is clean all the debris from your garden. Get rid of dead foliage, leaves, roots, stakes and row markers. The debris you clean from your garden can be added to your compost heap which will be a big help come spring. You want to be sure, though, not to add any diseased debris or pest infected dead leaves or stalks in your compost pile. You don't want to accidentally spread a disease from this year's garden to next year's.
And now that you're in cleaning mode, get out the rake and attack those fallen leaves scattered across your lawn. Why is it so important to remove leaves from your lawn? Because the grass underneath the leaves still needs all light it can get. Raking leaves from your lawn also lets adequate air and moisture get to living plants in your yard. After all, you don't want any of your lovely grass and plants to suffocate!
Winterizing your garden also means mulching. You want to spread a light layer of mulch, just a few inches of it, around your trees and shrubs. This helps keep the underground temperature more stable throughout the winter, as well as offers much-needed protection to roots underneath the surface. Careful, though, too much mulch will become a home for rodents, which is the last thing you want. Mice just love to chew on bark, so don't give them a place to hide while they munch away.
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