Unless you’re planting flower or vegetables that grow in the winter, you shouldn’t expect much out of your garden when the cold weather arrives. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few tasks to complete at the end of summer that helps keep your garden in excellent condition for the following spring.
Believe it or not, your green-thumb work isn’t over once you’ve reaped what you sowed, literally. Once the summer season starts to transition into fall, there are several garden maintenance tasks you need to complete so your soil survives the brutal winter temperatures.
Curious to know what you should do? We spoke to two gardening experts for their advice on the top garden maintenance tasks to complete at the end of the season.
Get Rid Of Weeds
It should go without saying that taking care of weeds was going to be at the top of the list. Ideally, you should monitor weed sprouts at the beginning of spring, but fall time is the next best season to remove the pesky sprouts before your garden goes dormant during the winter. “It is crucial to get rid of weeds that may have sprouted so that they will not reseed and spread over the winter or be ready to sprout for warm season weeds,” Mitchell says.
Harvest Seeds & Vegetables
Both of our experts say harvesting is a major part of garden prep for the winter. According to Mitchell, you should aim to pick vegetables daily or every other day to keep the plant producing, while McCrary says this is the perfect time to harvest seeds from spent flower heads.
Drain Water Supplies
Regardless if you’ve invested in a handy sprinkler or irrigation system, or still rely on the good old hose, Mitchell says you’ll want to drain your water supply before the winter hits to protect your pipes by not freezing and bursting.
While you’re at it, Mitchell says now is the perfect time to drain the fuel from your lawn mower and other power gardening tools, too. “Drain fuel out of power equipment or add an additive for that use as old gas will gum up your carburetor that will not be used in winter. This keeps them from corroding or causing clogs.”
Refresh Your Mulch
All gardens love mulch for its insulation properties and weed prevention, so when the summer season is over, our experts say it’s time to spread a fresh layer of mulch over the soil. “Mulch with pine needles or pine mulch to protect the plants from winter extremes, hold in moisture, and prevent fall and winter weeds from sprouting,” Mitchell instructs. She also adds that along with the mulch, you should add a layer of compost to enrich the soil before topping the bed with a layer of leaves to keep the garden warm during the winter.
Plant Winter Vegetables Early
There are some vegetables that thrive in the cold temperatures, mostly hardy, cruciferous plants, and late summer to early fall is the best time to get a head start on planting their seeds in the ground. Mitchell says plants like cabbage, collards, kale, broccoli, lettuces, chard, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and spinach should be planted sometime between mid-August to late September so they produce throughout fall and winter.
Plan Next Season’s Garden
“Once summer ends, it’s then the perfect time to plan your garden out for next season,” McCrary says. He encourages every homemade gardener to use the cozy, cooler months to think about any new ideas you want to test out in next season’s garden from new plants to planning a complete garden refresh. If you’re considering planting new varieties, we highly suggest studying up on their care and growing needs so you know what to expect.
Cover The Soil
Not a required task, but one that takes your winter garden care to the next level is covering the bed with a thick plastic sheet to protect the soil from frost or snow (though that’s not always something we see here in the South). This extra layer of protection also keeps your soil from eroding so you have an overall healthy garden for the following spring.
Discard Diseased Plants
Once the summer is over or your plants stop producing, take a day to walk through your garden and carefully inspect all the plants that are left. As you do, Mitchell wants you to remove any plants that have been affected by diseases and discard them without putting them in your compost.
