Prepare Your Garden for Winter

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Harvest remaining crops, dig up tender bulbs, and plant garlic and spring bulbs. Mulch beds, drain irrigation, and store tools. Check for mixed advice on perennials and leaves before you start.

What you need

• Mulch or compost
• 3-IN-ONE® Multi-Purpose Oil
• Hardware cloth
• Frost cloth or burlap
• Cover crop seeds

Steps

1. Gather remaining vegetables and take cuttings of tender plants to overwinter indoors. Save seeds from open-pollinated varieties and store them properly. Shield frost-sensitive plants with burlap or frost covers. Remove weeds and debris from vegetable and flower beds.
2. Lift tender bulbs that can't survive winter. Leave Dahlia bulbs until after the first hard frost, but dig Caladiums before foliage yellows. Store saved tubers and corms underground. Plant garlic in October or November.
3. Get spring-flowering bulbs in the ground. Fall works well for trees, shrubs, evergreens, and perennials because soil warmth helps roots establish. Keep watering new plants even after temps drop.
4. Add compost to refresh beds and plant cover crops to boost fertility. Cover bare soil with mulch or compost to prevent erosion. Shred fallen leaves for mulch or compost, or build new beds with leaves and grass clippings.
5. Some suggest cutting back perennials after frost, while others recommend leaving standing plants and seedheads for wildlife. Clean up vegetable beds, cut down old plants to soil level for mulch, remove diseased material, and stop plants you don't want reseeding. Leave some seedheads for birds.
6. Drain hoses, blow out irrigation, and empty pumps before freezing. Clean tools and oil them with 3-IN-ONE® Multi-Purpose Oil. Store ceramic pots upright without stacking to prevent cracking or sticking. Mow around fruit trees and wrap trunks with hardware cloth. Drain fuel from mowers and trimmers.

Related on Landscaping Bible: Build a Lasagna Garden in a Raised Bed, Mulch Leaves to Feed Your Lawn and Garden, Overseeding and Aeration in October for a Thicker Spring Lawn, How to Winterize Your Lawn with Late-Fall Fertilizer.

Why it works

Mixed Advice on Cleanup

Page 1 suggests cutting perennials after frost, while Page 2 advises leaving some for wildlife. Page 3 recommends shredding leaves for mulch, whereas Page 1 mentions leaving them or composting. Choose based on your goals. Page 3 lists vegetables that stay in the ground; other pages do not.