Winterizing the Garden

By Jackie Woods   UCCE Master Gardener

The temperatures are dropping, the vegetable garden is waning and thankfully, we actually had our first decent fall rain.  All of this can only mean one thing:  It's time to put the garden to bed for the winter!  Lucky for the Central Coast, our winters are fairly mild but there are still chores that can be done to ensure that plants have a great start come spring. 

A good task to start with is clean-up.  Remove fallen leaves, spent vegetable plants and pull up finished annuals. Cut back perennials, prune roses and pull any weeds.  What to do with all those bare areas in flower beds?   Apply mulch!  Mulch helps the ground retain moisture, creates a welcome environment for earthworms and helps keep weeds to a minimum.  Newly mulched gardens are aesthetically pleasing to look at and gives the garden a tidy, groomed appearance. 

Fall is a good time to consider adding new bare root plants into the garden before spring arrives.  Fruit trees and roses are generally available for late winter/early spring planting.  If bulbs are a mainstay in your garden, split them if needed and replant.  Bulbs are a wonderful addition to any garden and can be planted directly in the ground or put in decorative pots.  Narcissus, crocus, daffodils and iris, just to name a few, are common bulbs that can be found at any nursery or can even be purchased online.

If there are any lawns still out there, don't forget they need fall and winter TLC, too!   Fertilize in the fall and again before spring for a healthy green turf.  Protect potted succulents by placing them closer to the house or store them in the greenhouse.  There is one more task to consider doing during the fall and winter and that tends to be the most fun chore of all: kick back and browse all the seed catalogs while waiting for spring to arrive!

Still need some inspiration?  Join the UC Master Gardeners for a free Advice to Grow By workshop on “Winterizing Your Garden” on Saturday, November 19^th from 10:00AM – 12:00PM at the Garden of the Seven Sisters located at 2156 Sierra Way in San Luis Obispo.