How to Prepare a Vegetable Garden for Winter

As your vegetable garden approaches its final days of production, and you begin to fantasize about what you will plant in next season's plot, follow these simple steps to prepare your vegetable garden for winter. Doing so will ensure not only the quality of the soil but future plantings, as well.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Remove old plant growth and sow cover crops. Planting a cover crop will prevent valuable topsoil from eroding and discourage the growth of winter weeds. Likewise, cover crops provide organic nutrients in the spring when they are tilled into the soil.

2. Work the soil. If you choose not to sow a cover crop, you can prepare the soil by removing all old growth and tilling the beds under. Be sure to cover the soil with mulch to discourage any winter weed growth.

3. Take advantage of a winter garden. Many root vegetables, such as carrots and onions, grow well in cold temperatures. Sow these seeds in late summer and cut off any green growth before winter. Cover these vegetables with mulch. Likewise, leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and cabbage do well with the protection of a cold frame or cloche.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that cover crops are not harvested like vegetables; instead, they are worked into the soil.
• Although summer gardens are more popular with novices, a winter garden can provide an abundant assortment of vegetables with just a little effort. Late July to mid-August is the ideal time to begin sowing seeds for a winter garden.

Resources

• Read more about how to prepare a vegetable garden for winter.