The winter chill is coming, but it doesn’t mean you can now give your garden the cold shoulder until spring. There is still plenty to do and your flowers and vegetables need the help to prepare for the big frost. Here are our top tips on how to prepare your garden for the winter:
- Dig into your vegetable plots to let the frost to get in. This will break down the soil and bring in air, helping to make your soil more manageable in spring.
- Utilise the free fall of leaves and put them either in your compost bin or in your garden waste bin, which in turn will get brought to our green waste recycling site or someone similar.
- Cut back and light prune trees and shrubs. You can also plant new ones, such as Sarcococca to add colour and bring fragrance to your garden.
- Around borders and plants we would recommend adding a layer of Compost Mulch to feed and protect your soil. This will add organic matter and will help prevent the soil from becoming compacted. This will also protect the frost from piercing down to the plant roots.
- In this quieter period take the time to clean out your greenhouse and sterilise/disinfect before planting again. This will be used more in the winter and it’s best to start with everything tidy and clean, ready for the new round of planting.
- It’s good to prepare your soil so that it’s ready for the planting season. Add some Compost Soil Conditioner to feed the soil and to help retain moisture over the cooler months.
- Plant raspberry canes and blueberries now, to help add an attractive and tasty element to your fruit garden.
- Make sure to not over water your plants as in the colder climate the roots do not need it.
- To ensure your lawn is looking vigorous for spring, maintain it now with our Turf Dressing Rootzone to provide the nutrients your lawn needs to endure the cooler months.
- Maintain and check your garden equipment, so that you don’t find yourself needing something new come the time you would like to start working. Sharpen tools and clean them up and use oil over the metal to prevent rust.
- For perennials we would recommend to top dress them with a coating of compost at about 1 to 2 inches deep. Yet, for tender perennials it would be best to cut back the stems and place in a pot somewhere inside and out of the frost until spring.
- There are still vegetables that you can plant in the winter, such as spring onions, broad beans and peas. Others such as, onions, shallots and garlic are also perfect for this time of year as they have a long growing season and won’t be ready to harvest until summer.
- Clean out the old plants and vines to ensure that no insect eggs are left on the surface, avoiding them to hatch in the spring.
- Birds find it difficult to dig for worms in winter, so add birdfeeders to your garden to help provide food.
