Preparing the Garden for Winter

I hate to say the nasty "w" word, but winter really will be here before we know it. We've already begun some of the winter preparations on the garden. No, the garden work doesn't end when the last of the harvest is in. Caring for your garden over the winter will give you a boost on the work next spring.

We still have a few things that are producing, but all the plants that are finished have either been pulled or tilled in to the ground. We pulled the corn to give to the animals, but the rest was tilled in. The dead plants will decay and help to fertilize the soil.

Some choose to till in the fall to make the ground more workable in the spring, before it is dry enough to get a tiller in. If you choose to till for this reason, it is a good idea to cover the soil with leaves or other mulch. This will prevent any soil loss and weeds.

We chose to till this fall in order to plant a cover crop. We planted rye grass. The rye grass will grow over the winter. It will prevent early spring weed germination. In the spring, it will be tilled under to nourish the soil. You will see cover crops referred to as a "green manure," because they are that good for the soil. Sure a lot better smelling than the other kind of manure in our barn, but we will probably use that too!

I do not have many perennial plants in the garden, but I will give them a good mulch for the winter too. Before the first frost I need to harvest any remaining tomatoes and peppers. Haven't decided if I want to try to ripen the green tomatoes or make a relish with them. The cooler weather vegetables, like cabbage can take the early frost.

One other thing I will be doing over the winter is saving the ashes from my fireplace. We had a lot of trouble with cutworms this garden season. Wood ashes are supposed to take care of those pest. So this winter our ashes will be saved in a barrel. We use the fireplace a lot so I hope to get enough. Then they can be mixed into the soil or put around the new plants to help get the cutworms. It will be dirty work, but well worth it to have some sweet corn next garden season.

Of course the other thing I will be doing over the winter is evaluating and planning. I will go back over my garden journal to see what went well, what was a flop and try to guess at why. Then make a list of what I want to plant next year. Should I try something new? Should I forget something that didn't work, or try it again. I like the planning almost as much as the actual gardening!

Another good article can be found at How stuff Works: Preparing a Vegetable Garden for Winter. It includes a chart of cover crops that can be used.

How about you? What do you do to your garden for the winter?