When summer winds down into fall it is time to start thinking about putting your garden to bed for the winter. Depending on your planting zone there are a number of steps you can take to protect your plants until the spring. This is a guide about preparing your garden for winter.
Preparing the garden for fall and winter is a routine task for me. About this time or when the first cool spell arrives, I begin to prepare my winter protection of plants that won't take cold. I separate them into outside, but protected, to go next to the south side of house and green house only plants. I also start to winterize my outdoor stay-in-place plants at this same time.
As I come across plants that need attention, I place it in the section it will go for the winter. Unless it needs repotting, then I place it in the repotting place.
For the plants that stay in the ground but will need mulch, I have mulch I been collecting for months. This is piled now next to the garden where it will go. After the first frost, I will clip the last of the summer's growth back to make the plant smaller and root those that will root. These rooting pots I place in the outside, but protected spot, just in case the winter in south Georgia is a lot colder than usual.
As for cutting the lilies' leaves, I don't, as I leave them to protect the rest of the plant and cut them back in spring. My roses I cut back in the months of December and January, as we have blooms here until the first frost, and sometimes later . I mulch all of the garden by December with leaves or pine straw. I take my pine straw and run over it with the lawnmower a couple of times and by spring or warmer weather it is degraded down and I can do spring mulch of pure pine bark and leaves.
Remember the plants you put in the greenhouse. Some will need water, some will need some water, some will need no water, and you need to place similar feeding pots together or you drown things you don't want to. Usually a mist of warm water in the greenhouse in winter, unless the pot is severely dry, will do the job.
If you are like me and have a lot of different plants, you will get caught by an early frost or cold spell and lose your plants or work yourself to death and forget where you want certain plants to go. Likewise, plants that you wanted in the greenhouse will end up outside where they won't survive. I start early and that gives me about a month and half to get it all done in my area. This works because you won't be stressed and our flowers aren't supposed to stress you.
Note: Be sure your pots drain easily for their winter storage or the roots will rot. That would be a good reason to repot before you winterize the plant. I also take a lot of small plants or groups of plants and put them in a pot together that is a little deeper than where they were, to protect them and make caring for them easier. In the spring, I can just repot using the soil in the container. It takes a few minutes either way and I don't lose the smaller plants in the jungle in the winter.
The picture is of my outdoor protected area with the cardboard and plastic for when cold weather really sets in. I leave the top 2 feet with only plastic for light and when the sun gets too hot. And on one end during hot days I open it for air circulation. Things like my hibiscus from south Florida will stay green and keep flowering here. If we have extra cold weather, I add a blanket or more cardboard to outside. The house also provides warmth and the window in it is my bedroom. I get to see the pretty blooms when the weather is too cold all winter.
Please note, this won't work where you live if it is in snow country. We usually only get down to 20 degrees.
By gbk from south GA
Jim brought in the eggplants, and I commented that they hadn't had time to turn purple yet. He laughed at me and said they were a new variety he was trying, called "Green Apple." (blush) Most of our tomatoes are green, too, but they WILL turn color! I will can them as they ripen.We are eating so many raw vegetables right now, knowing that in winter they will become a costly luxury. Once the garden has been cleared out, Jim will spread manure and straw from our calf pens and then turn it under with the rototiller. After that, it's up to the weather and the season to fill it with snow and let the stinky stuff break down.
In spring, he will till it once again, and then carefully measure and mark the rows. The soil is full of humus after 24 years of tillage and enriching. I don't know how folks feed their gardens without cows. You can only turn so much compost. But then, not everyone raises a quarter acre of veggies plus fruit trees and berries. They probably have more sense than we have. :-)
By coreenhart
I watch the street gutters carefully for lawn service men to blow all leaves from other yards my way, which mixes with dust and water making a wonderful addition for the compost! I get the last laugh, even though they don't necessarily do the blowing on purpose, it just works out that way because I'm on a corner of three other homes with lawn service and I must do my own, without leaf/grass blowing.
I trimmed Crepe Myrtle branch ends and dead twigs throughout the tree and reaped a last huge fall blossom time as they wind down to dormancy for winter. I've got a chance for one last application of coffee grounds to the two types of grass, which is dense and green again except where the grub worms are, which need Milky Spore to eliminate them that I cannot afford. Oh well, I'll deal with the damage next spring.
I pull what weeds I can after each rain when they perk way up as if begging to be pulled. I sweep sidewalks/patio, wishing I could bleach them, but money and water restrictions forbid it. (My standards are going lower with each passing year!) I need also to repair bent storm windows, cover exterior door frame cracks with found wood/and paint them.
I've cut and stacked dead limbs for firewood to add over stacks of junk mail to burn in the firepit. I've trimmed dead branches for healthy shrubs and trees, fertilized evergreens with coffee grounds.
I'm preparing the few large house plants for their first few visits inside at signs of temps below 55 degrees since most are tropicals.
I finished hunting down all pools of collected water to minimize mosquitos, collecting lots of plastic bottles and jugs for watering winter garden. I'm checking all bird houses/baths for repairs and cleaning.
I lost a few herbs to too much rain recently. I have new growth on rose branches. I'll wait until February to prune them. Need to remember to shape/trim all 20 Boxwood shrub back to 3' balls in the spring, not fall. I have wasp houses to clean out (tiny bird house designed).
I need to pot any remaining plants to give to friend for over-wintering in University Greenhouses.
Trying to cut down all tree saplings each month, but not keeping up. I'm regretting not being able to take pictures of so many of our blooms this year, especially of many colors of Crepes.
Need to divide five colors of two and three-tone irises, prune 8'x4' Agave plant and it's offspring more into tree-shapes, if possible.
Cleaned fiberglass multiteired fountain out. Hoping to harvest more Dandelions for the bunny and Clover for us this Fall. Soil appears to be MUCH more healthy.
City mulch applied just in time before they ran out. I need to prune two wrist-sized broken branches on Bradford Pear trees and spray with tree paint before the branches get sick. Buckling down all cabinet/closet doors.
Meantime, I'm getting my covered car top carriers ready, reviewing my seed plans, waiting for the Society Garlic to go to seed, harvesting blooms/freezing, inquiring of readers about best cooking advice for Hyacinth Beans, cleaning up all non-garden items: tools, storage bins, lawn chairs covered, umbrella tightened down, dead stalks of veggies cut/composted, swim toys/pool/bikes, etc.
Best wishes for good holidays to come in which we can show our love and gratitude to other family members, neighbors and God for whatever He has given us and allowed us to use for a time.
By Lynda
What do I do about putting my rhubarb to bed for the winter? Do I cut it down or just leave it? Seems to me that in previous years I just left it, but I'm now being told that I should always cut it down.
By sooz
By Elaine S.
10/14/2011
Well I will reiterate what redhat said, oh, I guess I didn't need to! lol
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