In this episode we take a look at tasks you can do in October to get you garden ready for the upcoming winter.

Dig Deeper

Episode Transcript

Hi!  John Morgan here with the Keep Growing Podcast.  With the end of the gardening season here in the Mid-Ohio Valley, I’m going to switch gears on the podcast.  There’s not much to talk about weekly so we’re going to take a look each month during the winter at different topics that can be done now to give you a jump on next spring.

During October, the first frost is on the horizon and it’s time to put our gardens to bed.  This last weekend, I mowed off my meadow garden.  I find that giving it a cut in the fall, helps it turn into a beautiful sea of grass in the spring.  I also, cleared out some flower beds in preparation for planting pansies.  Over the next few weeks, I have more cleanup to do, planting spring bulbs, and also reseeding my wildflower beds.

A big task that you can do this fall is preparing your vegetable garden’s soil for winter.  First off, I like to give it a till to knock back weed growth going into the winter.  Then, I collect a soil sample for testing.  In many states you can send a soil sample to your state’s extension service for testing, and they’ll give you a detailed report for how to amend your soil.  The optimal time to test your soil is right now in the fall, after the growing season. Finally, I plant a cover crop like winter wheat to keep weeds at bay and add nutrients to the soil.

Finally, there’s packing away your garden tools.  Clean, sharpen, and oil them to keep them rust free during the winter.  Also, consider freezing temperatures.  Drain garden hoses and irrigation systems that can be damaged by ice.  Also, with the final mow of the season, clean and prep your mower for winter.

Wow. OK.  That’s a pretty long list of tasks to get done in the fall.  Getting your garden and landscape ready for winter can be daunting, but it’s the last push before we can start to slow down and start dreaming of the gardening season when we can yet again Keep Growing.