Is your gardening calendar empty for winter? Well, we can fill it up together. If the cold season leaves you time on your hand, don’t waste it! There are many things and chores you can do during the months ahead, and I have a few tips and ideas for you! In fact, the more you do now, the less you will have left to do in spring, when the land warms up and plants start waking up…
In fact, winter is the ideal season to carry out tasks you haven’t had time for till now, but it is also a time of maintenance and preparation for spring, and here are 18 useful tips for you – to keep you busy!
Tip 1 – Plant Your Garlic Before Christmas
Let’s start with a simple tip: if you haven’t planted garlic in your vegetable garden yet, hurry up and plant it now!The ideal time is running out and you should do it before the end of December, if you want to have a good crop soon.
Garlic is also a good way to keep slugs and snails off your other winter veggies, or your flower beds, so, be wise and plant it now!
Tip 2 – Clear Your Beds from Weeds
If your beds have perennial weeds, it is time to clear them! But maybe you should not uproot them at this time, in order not to disturb the soil. So, take some shears or sharp blades and cut them down to soil level.
You may need to go back to them in spring, and finish off the job by uprooting them. And talking of shears…
Tip 3 – Do Your Tool Audit in Winter, You Will Avoid Surprises in Spring!
As winter approaches, it is time for a tool audit… First of all, check that you have all the tools you will need next year, and make sure they are not broken. In case, it is the best time to repair them.
Make sure you test all blades, to see if they are still sharp, and in case, sharpen them. When spring time, if your tools are missing or not functional, you will waste time when you have so much on your hands, that you will regret not carrying out a tool audit before.
Tip 4 – Do an Infrastructure Audit –Better Now than in Spring!
Similarly, it is time to check that all your structures and infrastructures are functioning and in good conditions. And this is the best time to do it! To start with, you have little vegetation in the way, so you can see them well. Next, you won’t need most of them, or you will need them less.
Things you need to check in winter are the status of:
- Your irrigation system, and we have a full article on this!
- Fences, gates and walls.
- Your shed.
- Greenhouses and polytunnels.
- Trellises and frames.
- Paths.
- Raised beds, and here too we have some tips on how to top them up.
I suggest you take a note of all the repairs you need to do, and write them up in your gardening calendar, so that your land is fully functional by spring!
Let’s get specific though…
Tip 5 – Clean and Store Your Tools
After the audit, it is simply time to clean and store your tools; you may want to put them in your garden shed, if you have one, but in this case, you should give it a final check before winter becomes too severe… So, up next…
Tip 6 – Clean and Tidy up Your Shed as Winter Starts!
The beginning of winter is also a good time to give your shed a good clean and tidying up! You have been using it for months, and it is now dirty, and sometimes messy… this is how you could do it:
- Take a day and empty it first!
- Then check for holes, damage etc. and repair them.
- This is a good time to check for unwanted guests, like mice, and take steps to keep them out, because they will like your shed as a winter shelter!
- Paint it now, you won’t have tine in spring.
- Clean it and then store away your tools and everything you keep in it.
And now, let’s move out and talk about your lawn…
Tip 7 – Remove the Leaves from Your Lawn
Really, this is up to you… If you leave the fallen leaves on your lawn, they will provide mulch during the winter season. However, they may be too thick, or you may just want to have a clean green carpet in your garden.
So, if you want, you can clean all of some of the leaves from your lawn as winter comes, but then, you can also give it a final light trim…
Tip 8 – Give Your Lawn a Final Cut If You Can, It Has a Hidden Benefit
Before the weather gets too cold, you can give your lawn a final cut, but make sure there is mo frost yet. So, it is something you should do in early winter. Also, keep it a few inches tall, I would say at least 2 (5.0 cm), because it will need that insulating layer of green leaves during the cold season.
And now you have green and brown leaves, from cleaning and mowing your lawn, you have a great mix of nitrogen and carbon, perfect for your compost heap!
Tip 9 – Mulch Beds with Seaweed
If you live near the coast, or have access to it, it is time to harvest seaweed! Winter is the time when beaches fill with it, because the plants die and they get washed ashore, and because no one clears them in this season…
Seaweed is an outstanding fertilizer, and excellent mulch too. You may worry that it contains too much salt, theRoyal Horticultural Society assures us that “the salt is not usually present in sufficient amounts to damage crop or soil”.
But if you are worried, leave it out in the rain and it will wash the soil off the seaweed! Yes, because it is very soluble, and so, you can safely and easily mulch your beds and feed them at the same time!
Tip 10 – Sow Filed Beans in Nitrogen Poor Beds and Areas, They Will Replenish It over Winter!
Field beans (Vicia faba) grow well in winter, and they are nitrogen fixers! This makes them ideal to enrich your soil over the cold season, and you will give you an excellent and protein rich crop in spring!
In fact, field beans are a type of green mulch,so, I suggest you grow them on impoverished soil, and it will be nitrogen rich by spring. They also grow well with Brassicaceae, like kale and cabbages, which are yet another winter crop!
Tip 11 –Winter is Also the Time for a Seed Audit!
Do you know how many seeds do you have to sow in spring? Do you know which plants you want to grow, and how many, and if you can? Well, don’t wait till next year to find out! Carry out a seed audit in winter, and this will save you time at the busiest time of the year in gardening!
Get all your seeds, get a notepad, and write down how many (roughly) you have for each variety! Also check that they are healthy, and you discard the sick ones… This will help you plan sowing when winter is over, and you won’t need to rush off to the garden center after you have prepared your beds and found out you don’t have enough to sow in them!
Tip 12 – Empty Your Containers, and Don’t Waist the Compost!
If you have lots of containers, many of them will be useless in winter… You can leave them there till spring, but it is best if you empty them in winter, because the harsh weather and rains of this season will impoverish the soil or compost they have inside.
But don’t throw it away! It still has value for experienced and thrifty gardeners! Put it on your compost heap instead, and it will enrich again, and you will have more in spring.
If it is garden soil, however, and with little organic matter in it, it could go on a bed instead…
Tip 13 –Expand Your Garden in Winter, It’s the Best Time to Do It!
Do you want more flower or vegetable beds next year? Winter is the best time to prepare them and expand your garden! You have time to do it, you have a clear view of your plot of land, and the soil will be ready by spring, when you need them!
Winter is also a good time to build raised beds, and build new trellises and other structures. So, get busy now!
Tip 14 – Wash the Panes or Cover of Your Greenhouse or Polytunnel!
The panes or or cover of greenhouses and polytunnels need regular washing, at the very least once a year. And winter is a good time to do it! This is also because dust and dirt reduce light inside, and this cold and dark season is when you need it most.
I also suggest you clean them again in spring, because they do get quite dirty during the winter season!
Tip 15 – Keep Your Greenhouse and Poytunnel Fully Planted!
It does not matter what you grow in your greenhouse or polytunnel in winter; the important thing is that you keep growing… The roots in the soil will keep it healthy and aerated, and they will avoid compaction.
So, don’t waste this warm space in winter, and keep it healthy, by growing seedlings, crops, and all sorts of plants! Talking about which…
Tip 16 – You Can Transplant Adult Plants to Your Greenhouse or Polytunnel in Winter!
Maybe the weather is getting unusually cold? This winter is worse than you had expected? In case, remember that you can still transplant adult plants into your greenhouse and polytunnel, so they will not die, and you won’t lose your crops!
So, even if you are growing plants that would survive and even thrive in a normal winter, but climate change throws a spanner in your works, you have a solution now!
Tip 17 –Protect Your Animals from the Cold of Winter!
Of course, you need to keep your animals warm, whether they are pets or farm animals. So, make sure that they do not suffer in winter, keeping them warm, and here are a few ideas for you…
- Check for holes in all their shelter, whether it is a dog kennel or a chicken coop, draughts in winter can really harm your animals. So, repair any cracks, and holes!
- Waterproof the roofs of your animals’ shelters; rains are starting to pick up, and if they get wet in winter, they can get sick and even die!
- Add a source of heat to your animals’ shelters;their body heat may not be enough in winter, so add straw to the kennel, chicken coop or and sheds for your four (or two) legged friends. But also remember to keep it clean and change it regularly. A light bulb could do as well, if you can connect it.
- Check that their water does not freeze!And in case, change it. But place the bowl in a warm place, to avoid it turning into ice.
And finally, let’s go wild!
Tip 18 – Protect Wildlife over Winter, and Your Spring Garden Will Be Alive and Happy!
And a final though must go to the other animal guests to your garden; they may be wild, but they can be your best friends! Yes, I am talking about beneficial insects and pollinators, beetles, chirping birds, squirrels and hedgehogs!
These animals will need three things overall…
- Food, so, bird feeders, berries, even seeds left on your perennials will give them a good nutritious meal!
- Water, not ice! So, do leave out saucers with liquid water over winter, and they will quench their thirst!
- Shelter, and this can mean lots of things, from nests for birds, piles of leaves for creepy crawlies, piles of wood for beetles, and even a little hedgehog shelter! Of course bees need a special treatment…
And so, here are 18 tips to keep you busy over the winter season, and to keep your garden healthy, just take your pick and write them up in your calendar!
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.