7 Ways to Tackle Your Winter Garden Blues
We gardeners and homesteaders dread the winter months. Once the leaves drop, the fruits dry up, and the days become long, dark, and cold, we stare at our barren lands from indoors, our foreheads plastered to the windowpanes as we wait for it to end.
It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, winter can be the most important season of all!
While you may have a long growing season or stay busy with a fall garden (or reaping the benefits of a strangely extended season - I was still harvesting tomatoes in 80-degree weather in November, yikes) - there are very important steps you can take to ensure a bountiful spring:
Mulch Your Fall Leaves
Ditch the rake and bags and mulch those leaves into oblivion! You’ll be adding nutrients to the grass if you leave them in place, or you can add them to your compost. Mulch your garden with the shreds, too! You’ll be fighting weeds and feeding your veggies all at the same time.
Amend Your Beds
While your beds are resting is the perfect time to give them a boost! Layer on organic material to feed them after a long year of production. A no-till approach will allow you to build layers of organic material while keeping old weed spores suffocated.
Plan Your Garden
Use these dreary days to complete your customized seasons-long garden plan. You can go into as much or as little detail as you like - it’s totally fine to shoot from the hip and make it up as you go! But if you’re looking to fill the hole that gardening left, then composing a full plan is the way to go! Think of the possibilities.
Start Indoor Seeds
Bring the sunlight to you! While not necessary, the best way to get a jump start on the season is to start seedlings before the last spring frost. You’ll need some equipment to start, but a grow light shelf is simple to DIY and can be used year-round. (Microgreens, anyone?)
Overwinter Your Plants
Undoubtedly you bring in your outdoor decorative plants to create your own frost-sensitive indoor jungle. Why not try your hand at overwintering your pepper plants? Many plants grown as annuals are actually perennials and with a little help from you, can come back strong year after year!
Plant Your Bulbs
This will require some forethought, as retailers will only ship out bulbs to arrive before your planting season, which is the fall - not winter. Bulbs are planted in fall to benefit from the chill, similar to how fruit trees need chill hours to fruit. Also, consider buying your bulbs in bulk. Splitting a large order with a friend or two drops the price per unit significantly. Or buy it just for yourself - who doesn’t need 5,000 bulbs?!
Research & Experiment!
No one becomes a master gardener overnight and the best lessons are learned by making mistakes. Take the downtime to research everything that failed. Use this time to experiment with different ideas and discover new methods for your gardening practices. If you’ve ever wanted to DIY a self-watering planter, or try your hand at a bonsai - winter is the time! Your DIY gorw light shelf will really be useful in these endeavors!
There is no off season for the home gardener, and the winter is no exception. By starting now, and staying busy, you’ll welcome in spring with months of preparation behind you!