How to Prepare Your Garden Beds for Winter | Fall Garden Cleanup, by The Garden Nextdoor on YouTube. 18 min 47 s.
- Video length
- 18 min 47 s
- Time to do it
- 2 to 3 hours
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Pull out spent annual vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, roots and all. Bag any plants with blight, mildew or rot and bin them rather than composting them.
Leave healthy perennials, herbs and anything you want to self-seed. Cut back dead stems to about 2 to 4 inches above the soil so you can see where plants sit.
Clear weeds before they drop seed, and rake the bed level. Remove old plant ties, stakes and any drip line you are storing for winter.
Spread 2 to 3 inches of finished compost over the whole bed. Leave it on the surface and let worms and frost work it in instead of digging.
Cover the compost with 2 to 4 inches of shredded leaves, straw or bark mulch. Keep mulch a few inches back from the stems of shrubs and perennials.
For beds that empty by early fall, sow a cover crop such as winter rye or crimson clover. Scatter the seed, rake it in lightly and water if the soil is dry.
Tidy the edges of raised beds and in-ground rows, refill any soil that has settled, and sweep paths so water drains away from the beds.
Clean soil off your tools, sharpen the blades, drain hoses and store everything dry so it is ready for spring.
Tips and common mistakes
Never leave soil bare over winter, because rain and wind wash away the top layer and weeds move in.
Skip digging or tilling in fall and let the frost break up clumps for you.
Chop leaves with a mower first so they mat less and do not smother the soil.
Wear gloves and point pruners away from your body when cutting back thick stems.
Questions
Can I use fallen leaves instead of buying mulch?
Yes. Rake them into a pile, run a mower over them and spread the shredded leaves 2 to 4 inches deep. They break down over winter and feed the soil.
Should I cut back all my perennials in fall?
No. Leave seed heads and hollow stems on many perennials for birds and beneficial insects, and cut them back in spring instead.
Do I need to water beds before winter?
Water deeply if the fall has been dry, especially newly planted beds and anything under a roof or eaves. Damp soil holds less frost damage than dry soil.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
