What Can I Do In The Garden This Winter?

What Can I Do In The Garden This Winter?

Wintertime brings obvious challenges to any gardener. As the cold and frost invades your garden, it is easy to worry about your crops, or what you are going to be able to do. However, if you are craving some time outdoors over the winter months, there are still plenty of activities you can do to keep yourself and your mind busy. Many plants are dormant, but it is still important to maintain and develop your garden.

Plant Frost Protection

The first thing to do, and perhaps the easiest, is to keep off the grass. If the ground is frosty, it will be easy to damage the grass if you step on it frequently. If you need to step on the it, it may be useful to place a piece of wood on the ground, then your weight will be spread evenly across the cold and hard ground. It is important that your plants and crops are protected, as it would be a shame to waste all your hand work that you have culminated over the previous months.

here are various instruments that you can use that will help you protect your plants and crops over the winter months. Garden fleece is a vital way of protecting plants from temperatures as low as -6°. Place the fleece over your plants before the frost settles in, then be assured of perfect plant protection. Simply take the fleece off when the weather warms up in the spring and watch your garden blossom into life!

The same principle applies with fleece bags, which you simply pop over your plants or trees. Coming with a handy drawstring, they are easy install and remove. Similarly, bell cloches are easy to place over your plants. The cloches warm the soil and create the ideal growing environment by retaining warmth and humidity, ensuring that your plants not only survive but thrive.

You can also protect your greenhouse with fleece or bubble wrap. These will ensure that your greenhouse will have the optimum growing conditions over winter. Tidying up your greenhouse may not sound the most exciting of jobs, however it can prove very useful when you move into the spring and summer months. Whether you are maintaining your lawnmower, sharpening or keeping mud off your tools, it is important to be prepared as you may be busy growing as the weather gets warmer.

Winter Garden Pruning

An important activity for any gardener over the winter months is to prune. This may be for your fruit trees, bushes, shrubs or roses. You will be able to remove any damaged or diseased wood or remove any areas where the branches may be rubbing or crossing each other. It is important to remember that you should cut at and angle as this enables rain to run off it which prevents rotting. You must also try and ensure that you make quick and clean cuts which minimalize damage to the living parts of your plant, tree or bush.

Winter Composting

Composting is another activity that is still useful to do over winter. A handy tip is to gather all the leaves that have fallen on your garden over the autumn and place them onto your compost heap. It might be useful to create a ‘leaf mold’. This is where you make a wire cage to place all unwanted leaves in. Add this to your compost heap to reap the benefits in the spring. Adding leaves to your heap enables rich and nutritious compost which will improve the health and growth of your plants. Of course, you can still use your compost now. Adding compost to your beds now will ensure that your plants are happy over the future months. Simply spread over the top of your beds or raised beds.

Winter Growing

You can also grow plants over winter. Garlic can go into the ground now as well as fruit such as raspberries or blueberries. There are various winter greens that can also be grown, such as Kale, Chard, Spinach, Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts. These can be grown in the winter and will bring exuberance to any cold or frosty garden. These winter greens have various health benefits as they contain various vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants.