How to Prepare Your Garden for Winter: Simple Prep Steps That Work

Winter is approaching, so just as you're pulling out cozy blankets and sweaters, your garden also needs a little help getting ready for long winters. It's time to prepare your garden for the dropping temperatures. Even in winter, the yard and gardens are overflowing with nature and fresh growth. In the fall, you need to take care of a few simple tasks to have a happy, thriving garden that will bloom with life next spring.

In this guide, our experts share best practices for winterizing your garden beds, from protecting trees and shrubs to covering raised garden beds. Let's prepare your garden for its winter nap.

Clear and Compost Dead Plants

The very first thing you should do to prepare the garden for winter is to give it a clean slate. A clean garden is a healthy one. Clear out old and dead plants from your garden beds to prevent pests and diseases from overwintering. Add disease-free plants to the compost using the chop-and-drop method. Cut the plant from the base, break larger branches to allow them to decompose more easily, and place them in the soil of your garden beds. These plants will decompose over the winter, providing nutrients to the soil.

Add Frost Covers

Many cool-season crops can withstand lower temperatures and yield abundant harvests until December with some planning. Many of these sensitive crops benefit greatly from protection. For example, plants in the Brassica family can produce a natural antifreeze that enhances their flavor after frost. You can extend their life even further and boost their health by covering them with frost covers, such as a floating row cover or a cold frame.

It's a simple but efficient way to protect your garden and increase your yield. These covers act as a warm winter blanket, keeping out the chill and moisture that do the most damage to these hardy plants. Frost covers, such as those that act as barriers against severe frost, retain heat around the plants and prevent frost damage.

Clean and Maintain Your Garden Tools

Fall is a great time to give your neglected garden tools some TLC. Remove dirt from the tools with a dry brush, sharpen the blades, and apply a layer of oil to prevent rust and keep your tools in top-notch condition. Scrub down and store your tools in a garden bucket or bag. Give your pruners and trowels a good wipe-down, then gather all the tools together. It's satisfying to know that everything will be organized, clean, and ready when you get back in the garden next spring. This simple effort pays off when spring arrives, and you can get right into gardening without dealing with rusted, malfunctioning tools. Find out how to care for and maintain your gardening tools.

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Wrap Trees and Shrubs

Protect trees with wraps to help them survive freezing winters. If your area experiences early snowfall, cover young trees and deciduous shrubs with any protective structure to protect them from heavy snow. In cold climates, young or tender trees prone to winter damage benefit from being wrapped with burlap or tree wrap.

For small fruit trees, wrap the lower trunk of the tree in a pest-proof tree wrap to keep mice from chewing on its bark in the winter. These protective layers protect the tree bark from harsh winter weather and shield it from sunscald and frost cracks. Tree wraps can also help to prevent winter damage caused by premature thawing.

Grow Cover Crops

Another way to prepare your garden beds for colder months is to sow cover crops, such as winter rye or clover. These crops improve your garden soil, prevent erosion, inhibit weeds, and add organic matter to the soil when they decompose. Plant them in the fall, and they will be added to the soil come spring, giving your plants a nutrient boost.

Prepare Perennials for Cold Weather

Water your perennials and flowering shrubs regularly in the fall. Before a heavy snowfall, cover the area around perennials with mulch such as wood chips, straw, or pine needles to prevent weed growth as the soil warms in spring. A layer of mulch also insulates plants and protects their roots from harsh temperatures. When flowers on potted chrysanthemums fade, move the pots to a sheltered spot. Water them thoroughly with drip irrigation and cover with a straw layer to overwinter.

Make Leaf Mould

Leaf mould improves soil structure and adds organic matter. It is also a sustainable way to recycle fallen leaves and enhance your garden's health. Choose a sheltered area in your yard to make leaf mold that will not spoil your garden view. Then, make a huge bin using wire mesh and wooden stakes. Fill it with all autumn leaves, sprinkle some water, and leave. The more leaves you add, the happier your lawn and wildlife will be. Once the leaves become crumbly, spread them as a mulch throughout your borders.

Cover Garden Beds

Add compost or manure over garden beds in late fall to let the soil absorb those nutrients over the winter. Then, apply a light layer of mulch or straw to prevent soil erosion, weed growth, and nutrient leaching. For new vegetable garden beds, another option is to cover them with black plastic or a cardboard layer, or an old carpet, leaving it in place all winter until you're ready to plant in spring. This will kill existing weeds and control sprouting seeds.

Look After Wildlife

When preparing a winter garden, don't forget about your beloved wildlife friends in this freezing weather. Provide fresh food and water to garden birds. Melt the ice on your ponds to let birds have a drink. Keep bird feeders and bird baths filled up. They love fatty, high-energy foods like suet in colder months. Maintain a feeding routine, provide them with clean water, and regularly clean bird feeders and baths to ensure good hygiene.

A healthy ecosystem also needs insects, so create a simple, cute bug hotel with wood and sticks. Fill the garden gaps with hollow plant stems and pinecones to provide a safe place for bugs to hide in freezing weather.

Protect the Outdoor Parts of your Watering System

Turn off your garden irrigation system before frost, or you may sustain damage. If you live in colder climates, you should drain all the water with an air compressor or bring all parts for the winter. Drain and isolate outside taps, sprinklers, and pipes. This will help to prevent burst pipes and a damaged tap during frosty weather. If you can't isolate your outdoor faucet, then insulate exposed tubes and cover the faucet to protect it from the cold.

General Garden Maintenance Tips

• Empty all the soil from your outdoor planters and containers to prevent them from cracking during the winter. Store the containers upside down. Freezing and thawing cycles in long winters can cause soil in planters to expand and shrink, which can crack your clay or ceramic pots.
• Mow your lawn in late fall as the grass grows. If grass is left too long after deep snowfall, it can develop brown spots in the spring.
• Prune trees and shrubs in winter with sharp pruning shears, when plants are completely dormant. Wait till the leaves have dropped before pruning. Pruning too soon may stimulate new growth that will be killed by the cold.
• Plant spring-blooming bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and crocuses in October. Choose a sunny location and plant each bulb in a hole that is twice as deep as its width. Water the bulbs gently with drip irrigation and cover them with mulch.
• There is no need to prune perennials or remove the dried flower heads of hydrangeas and other shrubs unless the plants are diseased. Leave the plants that look good to you. In fact, if you leave perennials standing, the crown of stalks will protect the roots in the winter.

The Bottom Line

These gardening tips will help your garden survive freezing winters and thrive in the coming spring. Now you can relax with a warm drink knowing you've given your garden the perfect makeover for cooler weather. With these preparations, you'll have a nice garden view from your house and get a head start when spring arrives.