When you think about preparing for winter, you likely think about getting the gutters cleaned out and raking the leaves. You probably aren’t thinking about your garden, but you should be. When you prepare your garden in the winter, you can spend the dormant months enriching the soil and helping reduce the amount of work you need to do in the spring. Here is how you can prepare your garden for winter.
Till the Ground
When you’ve harvested the last fruits and veggies from the vines, cut the plants back and leave the roots in the ground. This plant material will be an excellent source of nitrogen for the soil. Then, you want to till the ground and loosen the soil. While you’re doing this, toss in all of the tops of the plants you just cut off. You want the soil to have as much nitrogen as possible in the spring.
Put Down Cardboard
After you till the ground, you want to put down a layer of cardboard. The cardboard will act as a weed barrier, but it will also attract earthworms to help aerate the soil. It will also be a good source of carbon in the soil as the boxes decompose.
Make sure that you overlap any areas where there are holes in the cardboard, such as the boxes flaps. You want to make it as hard as possible for the weeds to get through.
Add a Layer of Mulch
Mulching Auburn AL is one of the most important things you can do for a garden. It helps hold in moisture in the soil and protects the roots from potential extreme temperatures. The layer of mulch will serve as another weed barrier and another source of nutrients for the soil.
Place Down Weed Fabric
For your final layer, cover your garden in a layer of weed fabric. The fabric helps hold down everything else you put in the garden and prevents anything from getting blown away in the wind. Then, all you’ll need to do is put your plants in the ground in the spring.
