Winterizing Your Garden for a Successful Spring

Every fall, there are pivotal signs to a gardener that their days of enjoying bountiful plants is quickly coming to an end. The sun starts to dip below the horizon earlier and earlier, the mornings have a chill to them, and the weather becomes damp. At the arrival of these signs, it’s time to finally accept it: winter will soon be here! That means gardeners should start to think about winterizing their gardens.

This year, we had a later, shorter spring than usual, so many plants are late. It’s the second week of September, and I’m just now starting to pull tomatoes off the vines. Unfortunately, Mother Nature waits for no one. So, we can’t wait until the garden is completely ready and the ground is frozen to start winterizing.

Here are some simple steps to set your garden up for success next spring:

1.       Bring in tender plants.

Ranunculus corms to be stored inside over the winter

Certain plants that grow from corms or bulbs are perennials in other areas (think dahlias and ranunculus) but are too tender to survive our freezing zone 3 winters. Some years, the cold dips down below -40C, well beyond the hardiness level for these beautiful flowers.

I tend to bring these in about now, when the temperature outside matches the temperature of my house. This way I can prevent shock from the drastic temperature change if I was to wait until the ground was frosty in the mornings. Read here to find out how to winterize your ranunculus!

2.       Perform your final harvest.

Make sure all your fruits and vegetables, especially those that won’t survive a frost such as peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. are harvested before the first frost. I will actually let my root vegetables endure one night of frost to make them sweeter. The frost signals the plant to bring all the sugars and nutrients to their roots (which happens to be the part you eat), making them sweeter. But, you’ll need to dig them up before the ground freezes entirely.

3.       Weed.

Making sure your garden is weed free in the fall will help keep it that way in the spring. Picking them before they go to seed is ideal, but if the odd few escaped your hoe, make sure you pluck them to minimize the number of seeds next season.

4.       Divide and plant perennials.

Fall is a great time to rearrange your perennial bed because the plant is heading towards dormancy so there is a smaller chance of it getting stressed during the move. Additionally, planting bulbs in the fall will help them get a head start in the spring so you have those early spring blooms.

5.       Consider mulching.

I mulch everything which may be a bit controversial. Many gardeners prefer to clean their beds right out of above-ground organic matter to deter rodents and harmful insects from bunking down. However, I find that the presence of my dogs is enough of a deterrent from the rodents and I’ve never had an issue with harmful pests (knock on wood). So, I leave my dead perennials and annuals in the ground to provide a natural mulch for my garden.

The layer provides a first defence against weeds in the spring. Some of them are early risers and begin to germinate well before I’ve rubbed the sleep from my eyes in the spring. It also provides a barrier and layer of insulation during the cold winter months, protecting my perennials from deep frost.

If that wasn’t enough, the layer of mulch provides a place for ladybugs and other important garden bugs to bunk down for the winter. It will also begin to break down in the spring, adding nutrients and organic matter back to your soil.

6.       Pull up annuals… or not.

This is more of a personal preference. After the last point, it should be very clear that I will almost never do this step unless the plant is riddled with a disease I don’t want to spread. Another reason to pull your annuals is to prevent them from going to seed and taking over your garden (I have pansies EVERYWHERE!). But, if you prefer the look of a clean garden, you can absolutely pull the annuals and prune back your perennials. If you do this, I would strongly encourage you to use another source of organic mulch such as leaves, grass clippings, straw, or even cardboard.

7.       Make notes on your garden for next year.

There have been so many times I’ve thought about small changes I’d like to make for next year but haven’t written it down; lying to myself, “I’ll remember that!” (I’ve literally never remembered). Keeping track of which plants to avoid, which to plant more of, or what plants need more water are helpful points to note when making changes to improve next year’s garden.

Now you should be ready to winterize your garden! Using these small steps and doing a bit of extra work can make a huge difference in the spring. You’ll be sure to have a successful start to your garden next year if you follow these simple tips. Do you have other tasks that help you out in the fall?