{"id":55,"date":"2010-09-08T14:46:47","date_gmt":"2010-09-08T18:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=55"},"modified":"2010-09-14T15:28:49","modified_gmt":"2010-09-14T19:28:49","slug":"winterizing-your-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2010\/09\/08\/winterizing-your-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Winterizing Your Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Winterizing Your Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Garden Tools and Equipment Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clean      tools and coat with oil to prevent rust. Scrape off all dirt with a wire      brush or steel wool. Store all tools off the ground in a dry spot.<\/li>\n<li>Sharpen      and lubricate all pruning tools.<\/li>\n<li>Drain      water from hoses and irrigation equipment. Disconnect all hoses and store      kink-free in garage or storage building.<\/li>\n<li>At      final mowing run all gas out of tank and remove spark plug. Clean and oil      all moving parts. A drop of oil can protect parts from rusting. Remove      blade and sharpen to get ready for next spring.<\/li>\n<li>Clean      out garden carts, wheelbarrow and wash spreader to remove all fertilizer      and pesticides.<\/li>\n<li>Store      all pesticides in a dry location with temperatures above 40\u00b0F.<\/li>\n<li>Use up      all gasoline, do not store over winter. Never use old gasoline in your      equipment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Vegetable<\/strong><strong> Gardens<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Remove      all vegetative matter that may harbor disease pathogens and insects.<\/li>\n<li>Add      compost to improve garden soil for next spring.<\/li>\n<li>Plough      or deep till garden soil in the fall. Soil will warm up faster and excess      water will drain-off rapidly, speeding up planting time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Flower Beds<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If not      interested in winter seasonal interest, remove all seed heads and foliage      of most perennials and wildflowers. There are some notable exceptions such      as lavender, sage and artemisia. Seed heads of echinacea, rudbeckia,      yarrow (achillea) and other perennials are also important food sources for      many overwintering bird species.<\/li>\n<li>Plant      spring-flowering bulbs in the fall. Plant fall crocus and colchicum in      fall.<\/li>\n<li>Fall      is a great time to divide and \/or plant new perennials. Apply 2\u201d of      organic mulch around newly planted perennials to retain soil heat to      promote root growth and prevent heaving of plants over winter\u2019s freeze\/thaw      cycles.<\/li>\n<li>After      first frost, dig and store tender bulbs and tubers such as gladiolus,      tuberous begonias, dahlias, and cannas.<\/li>\n<li>Pull      up dead or spent annuals and compost. Any diseases plants should be placed      in the trash.<\/li>\n<li>Remove      all weeds in flower beds, particularly winter annuals like henbit, chickweed      and annual bluegrass.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Roses<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rake      up all fallen leaves around rose shrubs and dispose of properly.<\/li>\n<li>Cut      back roses no more than 25%, removing spent flower heads and weak spindly      growth. Major pruning chores are best delayed until late winter.<\/li>\n<li>Never      fertilize roses from fall thru early winter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Containers<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Container      grown plants are very frost sensitive. Cuttings may be collected and old      plants and potting mix should be composted.<\/li>\n<li>Root      systems of many hardy perennials, shrubs and trees are not as hardy as the      shoots and need additional protection against freeze injury.<\/li>\n<li>Store      empty stored ceramic and plastic containers in a dry storage building or      garage to prevent breakage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Lawn Care<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rake      up leaves, woody twigs and branches. Dispose of grass clippings in the      compost bin. Large leaves tend pile up and eventually smother the lawn      grass.<\/li>\n<li>Cut      the lawn one final time around Thanksgiving<\/li>\n<li>Apply      a slow release winter-formulized fertilizer in late October or early      November. Feeding gets your lawn off to a good start next spring.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Trees and Shrubs<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No      nitrogen containing fertilizers are applied in the fall, but do apply lime      and\/or sulfur as a soil test analysis may recommend.<\/li>\n<li>Fall      is a great time to plant or transplant shrubs and trees. Nurseries still      have good inventories in stock and prices are greatly discounted.      Container \u2013grown trees may be planted into early winter provided they      receive a 2 to 3 inches of an organic mulch<\/li>\n<li>Add 2      to 3 inches of new mulch around trees, shrubs, and trees.<\/li>\n<li>As a      rule, pruning is delayed until late February and March. Remove dead and      dying limbs anytime of year.<\/li>\n<li>Protect      sensitive shrubs and trees from winter\u2019s dry winds and potential road salt      injury. Constructing a vertical windbreak made from burlap or landscaper      fabric. Examples include sensitive needle evergreens, azaleas, camellias      and gardenias.<\/li>\n<li>To      prevent rabbit and rodent feeding, wrap small mesh screening around the      trunks of newly-planted apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot and cherry      trees.<\/li>\n<li>Deer      prevention strategies should be employed if applicable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Water Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stop feeding fish and      remove all non-hardy plants from pond. An option is to add a heater to      prevent or reduce ice buildup over the winter months.<\/li>\n<li>Remove pond pump and      filter. Remove any excess debris from the pond<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conservation: <\/strong>sow ryegrass or clover in early fall to prevent erosion and improve garden soil (as a cover crop).<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong> accomplishing<strong> <\/strong>most winterizing chores make the labor of starting off the spring garden a lot easier.<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Winterizing Your Garden Garden Tools and Equipment Maintenance Clean tools and coat with oil to prevent rust. Scrape off all dirt with a wire brush or steel wool. Store all tools off the ground in a dry spot. Sharpen and lubricate all pruning tools. Drain water from hoses and irrigation equipment. Disconnect all hoses and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,10,9,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions\/73"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}