Fall is here which means the temperatures are dropping, the daylight is hours are decreasing, and in Zone 6A it’s time to get started on prepping your garden for winter. If you are feeling overwhelmed, like “hey summers over, my frost date is slowly approaching, what am I supposed to do now?”, I have a list with some tips that will hopefully help you!
Putting your garden to bed is a really important part of the gardening process in areas where you can’t really garden year round. (I’m talking about you, my family in sunny, warm zone 9b) It helps you preserve your harvest, remove any diseased plants along with pests, helps to prevent winter soil erosion and gives your perennials the best chance they have surviving over winter.
Tender Vegetables do not tolerate any kind of frost and should be harvested before it hits. Keep a close eye on the weather as fall sets in, early frost can happen.
This includes beans, peas, pumpkins, summer squashes, tomatoes, and winter squash. Pull out these plants and all crop debris. If the plants have any sign of disease, either burn them or discard in the trash. Do not add any diseased plants to your compost pile, it can transfer disease back to your soil.
Semi-hardy vegetables will tolerate light frosts (usually 29°-32°). Most of these vegetables will benefit from some sort of protection like a row cover or a cold frame.
- Cabbages and Swiss Chard can withstand some frost. The outside leaves may get some damage or become a bit tough. All you have to do is peel away the outer leaves and they are usually good to go.
- Arugula, Cauliflower, English Peas, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, and Mustard Greens can die when unprotected in prolonged periods of cold weather. I use a row cover, and if it’s going to be really cold I double it up. It really makes all the difference.
- Root crops, your beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, and turnips can remain in the garden after a frost and still be in good condition. The greens may die but the root itself will be ok. Make sure to get them out before the ground actually freezes.
Hardy Vegetables will tolerate hard frosts ( 25°-29°) and some even taste better after a light frost.
- Brussels Sprouts can stay in the ground. Bury plants up to their tops with hay or leaves in the late fall. I use a tomato cage with added twine to keep all the straw in.
- Greens like collards, kale, and spinach actually become sweeter when touched by frost. When it gets super cold they go dormant and concentrate their sugars making them even sweeter. The sweetest spinach you will ever eat will be in spring after the winter passes. I also use a row cover over them to help them survive when it’s colder.
- Some varieties of broccoli may also survive through the winter without any protection.
- Garlic is planted in October and overwinters for next year’s harvest. I cover mine with straw for a little protection and weed suppression in the spring.
Semi-hardy vegetables will tolerate light frosts (usually 29°-32°). Most of these vegetables will benefit from some sort of protection like a row cover or a cold frame.
- Cabbages and Swiss Chard can withstand some frost. The outside leaves may get some damage or become a bit tough. All you have to do is peel away the outer leaves and they are usually good to go.
- Arugula, Cauliflower, English Peas, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, and Mustard Greens can die when unprotected in prolonged periods of cold weather. I use a row cover, and if it’s going to be cold I double it up. It makes all the difference.
- Root crops, your beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, and turnips can remain in the garden after a frost and still be in good condition. The greens may die but the root itself will be ok. Make sure to get them out before the ground freezes.
Hardy Vegetables will tolerate hard frosts ( 25°-29°) and some even taste better after a light frost.
- Brussels Sprouts can stay in the ground. Bury plants up to their tops with hay or leaves in the late fall. I use a tomato cage with added twine to keep all the straw in.
- Greens like collards, kale, and spinach actually become sweeter when touched by frost. When it gets super cold they go dormant and concentrate their sugars making them even sweeter. The sweetest spinach you will ever eat will be in spring after the winter passes. I also use a row cover over them to help them survive when it’s colder.
- Some varieties of broccoli may also survive through the winter without any protection.
- Garlic is planted in October and overwinters for next year’s harvest. I cover mine with straw for a little protection and weed suppression in the spring.
Some herbs definitely need winter protection while others can tolerate the cold without any help.
- Basil: Tender annual. Make sure to harvest before the first frost.
- Chives: Very hardy. Do not need anything special. You can take a clump of them and pot it. Let the foliage die down and freeze for a couple of weeks. Put the pot in a cool, sunny spot and you will be able to harvest chives all winter.
- Oregano: In cooler areas, add a layer of straw for winter protection
- Thyme: Nothing special is needed. It will go dormant in the fall and then pop back up in the spring.
- Parsley: Is a biennial, so if you are saving seed it will pop up and flower the second year.
- Rosemary: Cover with straw or bring inside for winter.
- Sage: Young plants will benefit from some straw covering. It eventually grows to the size of a bush and will thrive for many years.
- Tarragon: This plant dies down in the fall and puts up fresh green shoots in the spring.
Most of us add compost to our garden in the spring, but you can add compost in the late fall. This will allow the ground to really soak up the nutrients over winter. Then, add a cover crop or a light layer of straw, mulch, or leaves to prevent soil erosion. A cover crop will not only help to prevent soil erosion, it will add nutrients and organic matter back into your soil while helping to prevent weeds. If you are looking to make new beds, placing a tarp down or a layer of cardboard will kill existing weeds and subdue sprouting seeds. If you need to adjust your PH, this is the time to also add Lime or Sulfur to your garden. It takes about 6 months for your PH to adjust.
You can also continue growing into the winter by using season extenders like row covers or hoop houses. Check out my build for raised bed hoop houses here.
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- Prune Raspberries.
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- For summer-bearing varieties, leave the 6 strongest brown canes for every 1-foot of your patch.
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- For fall-bearing varieties, cut them to the ground after they have produced fruit. New canes will come up in the spring and bear fruit.
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- Prune Raspberries.
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- Plant blackberries in the fall and mount up the soil to prevent them from hard frosts pushing them out of the ground.
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- Blueberries are pretty hardy. Some may like a thin layer of mulch.
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- Cover Strawberries with a layer of straw mulch.
If you haven’t already turned off your water, do it! We turn off all our outside faucets from our basement and then let the water that’s left in the pipe drain out. You’ll also want to drain any hoses and get them wrapped up and stored for winter.
- Empty all your outdoor buckets and store them upside down to prevent cracking.
- Mow everything down as late into fall as you can.
- Use any fallen leaves as mulch for your garden.
- Cover up your compost pile with a tarp or straw layer before the first snow.
- Drain the fuel tanks on any of your machines, mower, tiller, weed wacker, etc. Check your manuals for any other winter maintenance.
- Scrub down and put away tools.
- Clean up and put away seed starting stuff/ greenhouse.
- Pull out any t-posts/ trellising and store them for next year.
