Getting your backyard ready for the winter doesn’t have to be a big job if you know what you’re going to do. Planning is important and the cold weather is upon you, which means that you need to get things in place now so that your garden doesn’t die out by February. It’s cold outside, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t look after your outdoor space.
The garden will die off in the winter without proper care and attention. You need to do all that you can to keep your garden as healthy as you can to keep it looking great for the next seasons ahead. You might not use your garden as much in the winter, but you still need garden sheds to keep the tools safe and they should be in the best condition – not falling apart. You have a lot to do during the winter to keep your garden ready for the onslaught of the cooler climate, and here are the things that should be on your list:
- Do what you can to help the rain to soak in. The ground being frozen in the winter is a problem. You need the soil to stop being so dry and that means making sure that it isn’t hydrophobic. When this happens, it’ll stop absorbing the water correctly and you can correct this with a good wetting agent. Seaweed-based additives can help here, and that will ensure that the compost is as nutrient-rich as possible. When the ground can soak up the rain, it’s in a better position to manage it!
- Consider weed control. Getting on top of the weeds in the garden before the new bulbs sprout in the spring is essential. Without this, you’re looking at the flowers and shrubbery you already have becoming strangled by the weeds. You don’t have to go nuts with chemicals but with a little elbow grease, you should manage just fine.
- Don’t wait. Winter is coming in hot (or cold, obviously) and you need to get on top of the jobs early so that you don’t miss out on the crucial time frames needed. Attend the garden paths, fix the irrigation and get the tools and sprinklers safely away in the dry areas. If you wait to do these jobs you’re going to need to get on them quickly.
- Prune what needs pruning. From existing fruit trees and veggie bushes to patches and climbing tomato plants, you need these to be tidied up and pruned back so that you can get planting your brassicas. Taking the time to tidy the garden now will yield much better results for next year. Check with the local nursery first, however, because you can determine which veggies that they’ll have available for you.
Your garden should stand the cold and it’s going to be easier to do that when you allow that to be the case. Your garden should be able to grow when you want it to and especially through the winter ready for spring.
