Tips on Year Around Gardening Chores

Gardening is a year around chore. Garden maintenance duties do not end when summer has finally faded away. In order for your garden to be in good condition for the following year, it is imperative that you take precautionary steps to winterize it for cooler temperatures to come, regardless of where you live.

The first step in preparing your garden for winter is to rake up all dead leaves that have fallen to the ground. If you have decided to construct your own compost pile, be sure to save these leaves for your first layer, because autumn is the best time to get started on your compost pile for next year’s garden.

At this point you should also clean up any dead plants and vegetation. This can be placed in with the other material for your compost pile, provided that none of the plants are diseased. Adding diseased material and plants to your compost pile could contaminate it, which will only cause further problems down the road. If you notice any diseased weeds or foliage, be sure to throw it in the trash instead of the compost bin.

The next step in winterizing your garden is to cut back any stems that are dry and remove any diseased leaves and stems from plants. Remember that these should be tossed directly into the trash. Roses should be trimmed or pruned back by about six inches. Any stems that cross one another should be completely removed. In order to protect the roots of these delicate plants, be sure to add some mulch; but only do so after the ground has frozen. This will keep small animals and rodents from burrowing down inside the mulch in an effort to stay warm. Although mulch is widely available at garden and supply stores, materials you have around your home, such as straw and dried bark will work equally as well for mulching material. Follow the same steps for your bulb and perennial beds.

Now, spend some time concentrating on your bushes and trees. Any dead areas should be cut away from trees, shrubs and vines. Make sure you cut all stems at an angle. This pruning will ensure healthy blooming when spring arrives again.

Once your garden area has been cleaned up, it is time to devote some attention to your gardening tools so that they will be protected during the cooler months to come and ready for service when spring arrives. This is a good time to have your tools sharpened and take care of any nicks that may have occurred during the spring and summer gardening seasons. Make sure that you take the time as well to clean your tools properly.

This is especially important if you used your gardening tools to handle any diseased plants. You can easily spread disease from this year’s plants to next year’s vulnerable plants by failing to clean your tools properly. Once they are cleaned, store them in a safe and dry location for next year.

Tips to Nourish your Garden with Compost

Adding compost to your garden is a great way to increase the nutrition of your soil without much effort at all. This is also a very inexpensive option and will add tremendous value to your garden. Compost is simply a mixture of organic materials such as grass clippings, leaves, straw, etc. Other items, such as vegetable peelings, may also be added to provide even more nutrition to the compost.

You can easily start your own compost pile at home. Keep in mind that a compost pile will be beneficial to any kind of garden you cultivate at home; whether it is vegetable or flower or even if you simply want to cultivate ornamental trees.

In order for your compost pile to be ready for use in your spring garden, you should start it no later than the fall of the previous year. If you live in an urban area, it’s a good idea to check your local ordinances to make sure there are no restrictions against having a compost pile at home. Once you have clarified this you can begin building your compost pile by selecting a location that is not too near your home. Many people like to actually locate their compost pile in or near their garden to make the process of broadcasting the compost to the garden easier.

The first layer of your compost pile should be composed of whatever waste materials you happen to have available to you. This may be grass clippings, leaves, straw, etc. You may choose to add household garbage, such as food scraps, as the next layer of the compost pile, but do keep in mind that any food materials that are added to the compost pile should be buried deeply inside and then covered with the next layer of compost; preferably more leaves, straw, etc. This is to keep animals away from the compost pile.

To reduce the smell of your compost pile and aid in aeration, which assists with decomposition, you may also wish to push some sticks between the various layers of the compost as the pile begins to grow in height.

Beyond proper aeration, your compost pile will also need plenty of moisture in order to break down properly and form a rich humus which you can add to your garden. Periodically, you will need to turn your compost pile over so that all the layers have an opportunity to blend as they break down. When you turn over the compost pile, be sure to check the moisture of the middle layer. If you find that the middle layer is dry, you’ll need to add some water. Make sure you do this each time you turn over the pile.

You’ll notice that as the weeks go by the compost will have begun to break down to a rich matter that no longer has a bad smell. In fact, it should smell just like soil. You will know that your compost is ready to add to your garden when there are no visible signs of the individual layers which were added to the compost pile. There should instead be a uniform mixture of humus.