Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Winter Gardening

Although your yard and garden may look like it’s in a state of hibernation during the winter months, there are important things taking place all year long in the garden that contribute to the overall health of your plants. For example, your soil is active all year long, and your evergreen plants continue to use nutrients. Thus, it’s important that you replenish nutrients in the soil for the next growing season. Composting is a great way to do this.

If you compost, you should continue to monitor your compost pile during the fall and winter. Turning your compost pile and adding organic material is an important fall and winter gardening activity. You can also consider building a compost trench at this time. These trenches can be planted during the next gardening season with plants that like lots of organic material, such as beans.

Mulching is another good activity for winter. Spreading out a layer of mulch over your garden will protect your garden soil from the elements and will help any plants growing in your garden. Mulch helps to insulate your plants’ roots. Additionally, mulch will keep winter weeds from taking hold. A 3-4 inch layer of organic mulch such as shredded bark or wood chips will work well.

from wintergardeningtips.com

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