By Matt Gibson
While spring , summertime , and declination are certainly the most dynamic seasons for gardeners , there is plenty to do in the winter that often gets overlooked . If you are a serious gardener , you know that there is no offseason , and no matter what prison term of year , there is always plenty to do in the garden .
In this article , we cover when you should cut back your plant during the winter , what situation call for track outdoor plants , what materials to utilize for cover outdoor plants , how to improve your soil during the winter , and how to winterize outdoor plants and garden bottom . This is just a helping of the oeuvre that a seasoned nurseryman should set about each wintertime , which is why our wintertime horticulture task feature is a multi - installment set
When should you cut back plants
for winter?
cut back your plantsis a year - round operation . Before we jump into when you should prune finical plants , let ’s have a quick deterrent example in pruning in general . The first thing to cut in the winter , on any plant , bush , or tree diagram , is diseased , dead , or die branches . If you are lop a diseased branch , wait until the weather is dry , as water can spread the disease that you are trying to remove . When dealing with morbid branches , cut well below the stirred areas . away from dead , kick the bucket , and morbid branches , cut away any limbs that are start to occlude walkways or mown expanse where they are potential to get damaged or broken . In general , the goal is to thin branches to leave more air and sun to hit the center of trees , shrubs , and other dense plants .
employ high quality pruners , never knife or scissors , to do the line correctly . A few of our favorites are as follows :
1 ) For bypass pruning hook , theCorona BP 4214D Flex Dial Bypass Pruner with Comfort Gel Gripsa great choice among many trimmer brand and mannikin .
2 ) For phratry with weaker hired hand who have a tough time nip off thick branch , you ca n’t beatThe Gardener ’s Friend Pruners , Ratchet Pruning Shears .
3 ) For hedges and shrubs , Fiskars 9181 Power - Lever Steel Handle Hedge Shearsare perfect for the task .
4 ) The Swiss - made brand Felco make pruning shears with replaceable brand blades , which come in handy more often than you might consider if you are not the type to sharpen your own prick . TheFelco One - Hand Pruning Shears ( F 11)are just one of many option in a fantastic personal line of credit of garden lopper .
5 ) For fruit trees and other big pruning tasks , essay outDCM ’s 6.5 - 13 Feet Telescoping undercut make Long Reach Bypass Garden Prunerto take on tough pruning tasks like a professional landscaper .
In the early leap , cut back efflorescence , decorative grasses , semi - woody perennials , and broad - leave evergreen plant . In the former summertime , undertake leaping - blossom shrubs and evergreen shrubs . In the summer or in fall , trim back sappy trees . In autumn , it ’s time to cut back your flowers again . And finally , in the wintertime , snip back your deciduous tree and evergreen .
Should I cover my garden in the
winter?
Yes you certainly should comprehend specific crops during the winter to put out the harvest time of etymon crop such as radishes , carrots , turnip cabbage , beets , turnips , and parsnips . white potato , on the other hand , require to be cut into out and harvest as soon as possible , unlike other root crop which might treasure exposure to the first few frosts .
Leafy greens like kale and collard putting surface benefit from photograph to the first Robert Lee Frost or two , improving in gustatory modality and overall sweetness after a bit of clock time out in the coldness . encompass these green with an one-time sheet or bedspread will ensure that they do n’t die during the cognitive operation , keeping the greens from getting too cold during overnight frosts . scratch and Swiss chard can also withstand a second of picture to light frosts , though outer farewell may have to be put away if they become damaged or tough due to the exposure . Lettuces , on the other hand , will wilt in the cold-blooded temperature and should be harvested before the first terror of frost just to be secure .
All other plant , such as tomato plant , pumpkins , zucchini , beans and peas , should have been glean during the spill . If there are any of these plant life continue in your garden , now is the clock time to displume them up and discard them . If they are disease - spare , fling them in the compost bin . If they are pathological , or if you are not indisputable , toss them in the trash or burn them so as not to hurt your compost heap or spread the disease any further . As you are ripping up old vegetables , also remove stake and supports , and clean house them with raging , buttery water system before store them until they are needed next year .
What do you cover plants with in
the winter?
Use old sheet of paper to breed plant during meek freeze , and erstwhile bedspreads or tarpaulin during laboured freeze to protect your plants and extend your harvests deep into the wintertime .
How can I improve my garden soil
in the winter?
In the early winter week , before the ground starts to immobilise up , pull up any weeds and murder all garden detritus , effectively winnow out overwintering sites for disease and pests . Gently till the stain , reveal overwintering insects , and get rid of them right away before they have a chance to burrow back under the topsoil again . Once the majority of the garden soil is queer , now is the time to work in the good , enriching the soil for the approaching growing seasons .
Add in a sizeable layer of compost , decaying leaves , aged manure ( if you have any on hired hand ) , and fluxing lime ( if call for ) to balance out your grease ’s pH levels . Gently till these additives into the soil and allow time and rainwater to do the rest .
Another big option to improve your ground over thewinter is to sow breed crops to enrich the soil with nutrients for the upcoming twelvemonth . When it ’s time to plant again in the springtime , just work the cover crop under the top layer of stain as they will quickly decay and provide life-sustaining organic issue for the approaching growing seasons .
If you are not break to sow compensate harvest during the winter , simply tolerate winter weeds to keep erosion from demolish your soil over the wintertime . When it comes time to plant anew , just rive up the light-green weeds and chuck them in the compost passel to disintegrate . There are seldom any winter plants that winter weeds will be surround anyway , and they will serve to keep your garden bed soil structure intact until you get around to sprucing it up for the spring .
How do you winterize a garden
bed?
Winterizing your garden bedswill help flora survive the short , gloomy winter years , and jolty , bitter winter nights . First , figure out the first and last icing dates in your area . Next , cut back back all dead , conk , or diseased offshoot on winter plant . Then , tear up any weeds and take special care to slay invasive plant completely . Never have invasive weeds into the compost heap , as they will take over the heap in no fourth dimension .
Divide perennials six weeks before the ground freezes . Dig up and store legal tender bulbs that will not survive the upcoming halt . add up mulch to any areas where you have left bulbs in the ground to overwinter .
function in three to four in of compost into the surface soil and then mulch your bed before hard freeze begin . Provide a deep soaking for evergreen to bring home the bacon hydration during the former crepuscle and early winter , specially if you have had a dry evenfall time of year .
Use tree wrap tapeline or spiral tree protectors to shelter the thin bark on vernal Tree . Create windbreaks using stakes to protect exposed evergreens . Wrap tender shrubs in gunny or farming fabric during the frigid time of year , transfer when the conditions begins to warm up again .
If you have weewee features , keep an oculus on the pump , making indisputable it does n’t freeze up during especially dusty nights . If you do n’t imagine the ticker will stay functional all wintertime , study removing it and any pond plant for the mid to late winter freezes .
If you desire to continue to reap salad putting surface and root crop , produce a cold frame and expend old sheet of paper and bedspreads to allow a level of warmth to protect your plants from devastating freezes .
Want to learn more about winter gardening tasks?
The Old Farmer ’s Almanac coversPreparing Garden for Winter
Good Housekeeping coversPruning Tips
GrowVeg covers5 Ways to make Soil in wintertime
SFGate Homeguides coversPlants to Cut Back in Fall
MNN coversHow to Winterize Garden
