By KADY LANE, guest columnist
Now that winter is technically upon us, it is still not too late to work in and on your gardens.
There are several actions that you can take now to allow more time in the spring and early summer for other activities. You can amend your soil. You can remove diseased leaf matter and invasive plants. You can prune fruit trees, harvest your compost and regenerate your pile, assess your growing season and create new beds. You can also clean, sharpen and repair tools this winter.
Amending your soil now saves you time in the spring and allows the nutrients that you add to start breaking down into the soil. Whether you add compost, manure, bone meal or other organic materials, your soil will thank you. Biologically active soil is happy soil and happy soil produces higher yields. If you are worried about winter rains you can cover your amended soil with a light cover of mulch and simply rake aside in the spring or transfer to another place to use.
It is important to remove all diseased leaves from your garden beds to help reduce disease spread. Often we forget this step during the busy growing season or during our first fall clean ups. However, now is a good time to go back out and look everything over one last time. Leaving behind healthy spent crops is important for your soil health and also provides winter lodging for pollinators, so make sure to leave these behind.
For some of us, removing invasive plants seems like a full-time job. Removing these invasives completely is the only way to prevent them from sprouting back up again. However, do not put them in your compost, as they will remain viable there and return as soon as you use your compost. You can smother them under tarps or in heavy black bags, which is called solarization. Once you are certain that they are no longer viable you can dispose of them. A few weeks of being in the sun should take care of them.
Winter pruning of trees encourages growth and higher production of fruit. Pruning in the winter is called dormant tree pruning and is healthy for trees. When a tree is pruned, it is stimulated to send energy to the area to close the “wound,” causing new growth. Since the tree is dormant in the winter, there is not a rush of energy to this area until spring when there is adequate moisture and sun to support healthy growth. Also, summer pruning opens the tree up to parasites and pathogens that can damage an otherwise healthy tree.
Most material that was composted over the summer is ready by winter. This means that it is full of healthy microbes. These microbes will jump start the health of your garden soil for the next growing season. Also, by harvesting your compost pile in the winter, you can start a new pile for next year. It is useful to also set up a separate leaf compost (brown matter) area so that you can add this brown matter to your fresh kitchen (green matter) scraps to keep your pile well balanced.
Having a garden journal is handy. You can take note of what worked and what didn’t work. Are there areas that you want to change or rebuild? If so, now is the time. Research different plants or other varieties of your favorites that might do better given your particular growing conditions. Build new beds or alter existing beds. Clean and sharpen all of your tools.
Finally, make any necessary repairs to equipment and organize your garden shed. It will be spring before we know it!
Kady Lane has worked as an educator for many years, teaching science in grades seven to 12 as well as adult education for Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Her master’s degree is in environmental studies and her undergraduate is in human services and psychology. Lane is currently the Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District educator and can be contacted at [email protected].
