Are You Ready For Winter Gardening?

As summer quietly draws to a close and temperatures start to fall

, we're reminded just how busy out autumn gardening tasks can keep us. With so many tasks to perform, it can be a hectic time. Everything seems to need to be done all at once.

If you grow food crops, a lot of your harvesting will be done in the fall months. Hardy fruits like apples and pears will all be ready, and soft fruits such as raspberries and blackberries all need picking before the birds get them. The more unusual fruits like grapes and figs need harvesting too, before the first frosts happens.

Cabbages, broccoli and sprouts all are ready for harvesting now and any unpicked members of the pepper family needs picking. You can just pick and eat them while they are still green if you want to, or you can bring the entire plant inside and hang it upside down in a greenhouse which will keep them ripening for a little longer. Tomatoes will ripen in this way too.

Beans need harvesting constantly, or they'll simply stop producing more pods. Dig their roots into the soil, in either autumn or spring, and take advantage of the nitrogen that they've taken in. Brassicas will flourish in that area next time.

Most root vegetables are ready for harvesting in autumn, and can be made into wholesome soup and stew to get you through those long winter months. Potatoes need to be dug up and checked for any kind of damage and holes before being stored in boxes or paper bags. Make sure you eat any damaged ones straight away.

The flower garden doesn't offer any rest for the conscientious gardener either. Less hardy plants will need to be brought inside for some protection against the cold, whilst larger ones might need to be wrapped in several layers of protective material. You can build a wire frame around your banana plants or palms and keep it stuffed with straw. Make sure it stays covered and dry with a well ventilated waterproof bag.

Although it makes good sense to have a general garden tidy up at this time of year, don't forget that wildlife need some attention too. Leave some berry and seed producing plants until spring and let the birds and animals have some fun. Invest in, or make your own bee and insect hotels for them to stay the winter in. They're your garden friends.

Autumn gardening can be very rewarding, even though it's really hard work. The work you put in now will certainly show next season. You'll be glad then that you took the time and put the effort in.

by: Linda Jensen

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