December 9, 2024, 1:36 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
The garden comes to rest with winter. myHOMEBOOK shows what still needs to be done in the vegetable patch now so that the gardening season can get off to a successful start in the new year.
As early as September, you can hear the leaf blower more often than the lawnmower in most gardens. The change of season is also clearly noticeable when it comes to gardening. The plants also slowly stop growing, and most of them lose their leaves and prepare for the dormant phase. In the vegetable patch, this is the last chance to switch from the plants that grow in spring and summer to the winter vegetables. However, some preparatory measures for the cold season are also necessary to ensure that next year’s harvest is abundant and diseases are prevented. We have compiled a list of how to prepare the vegetable patch for winter here.
Overview
Winterizing the Vegetable Patch: Tidy and Clean up
By no later than when the tomato plants turn brown and die, you can start tidying up the vegetable patch. All plant debris should now be removed along with the rootstock. Plants that have been affected by diseases such as blight or fungi should never be put in the compost. The spores and pathogens could otherwise be carried directly back to the young plants in the new year via the compost.
If no winter vegetables are planned, the bare soil should now be slightly loosened. This prevents waterlogging during longer periods of rain. Then, protect with fleece or a mulch layer of leaves, brushwood, or straw. Heavy rainfall and winds will then not erode the valuable humus layer so easily. The soil can also start the new season stronger.
If you still have winter vegetables in the bed or want to plant spinach and co. in the fall, leave these areas in the bed open, of course. You can also apply some straw between the individual plants as a protective mulch layer. Last but not least, the garden tools should be thoroughly cleaned once a year to remove dirt and, if necessary, pathogens.
In any case, weeds, which are now usually clearly visible, should also be thoroughly removed. The roots of unwanted plants usually extend several centimeters deep into the ground. It is worth using a cultivator to get to the bottom of the weeds and remove everything completely. Amateur gardeners will be rewarded with an almost weed-free vegetable patch the following year.
Add Nutrients to the Bed Before Winter
If you have had a lot of heavy eaters, such as tomatoes or other nightshade plants, in your bed, you can return some nutrients to the soil in the fall with little effort. One way of doing this is to work a generous amount of compost into the bare parts of the bed. Over the winter, this will be further processed by the soil organisms, and the nutrients will be available to the young plants in spring. The last sowing for green manure can also be done in October. The “Landsberger Gemenge” seed mixture, for example, is suitable for this. It contains frost-resistant plant species that cover the soil and hold it well while also enriching it with nitrogen.
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Winterizing the Raised Bed Vegetable Patch
Many hobby gardeners have created their vegetable patches in a raised bed. The advantages are obvious. The working height is much easier on the back. Pests such as snails also have a harder time getting to lettuce heads and the like. However, a raised bed also needs special preparation for the winter. If you want to leave cold-sensitive plants in the raised bed and overwinter them, you should wrap them with insulating foil or attach polystyrene panels from the outside. This will keep the heat in the raised bed better.
It may also be necessary to refill the raised bed. Compost and a layer of leaves, grass cuttings, or other garden waste underneath are suitable for this. This is because they loosen up the soil over the winter and decompose into humus. If you have used untreated wood as raised bed material, you can now give the cleaned wood another coat of non-toxic glaze. This will increase the lifespan of the raised bed.