If you're like most people it isn't the thought of winterizing
your garden that gets you, it's figuring out where to start.
There's just so much to do that it can sometimes be hard to
know where to begin!

Well, relax. The harvest is in and putting your garden to bed,
so to speak, is one of the more fun parts of gardening. You
have a nice full cellar and pantry. The hard work is done, and
you can relish the idea of preparing for next year's garden.

Which is the perfect place to start winterizing your garden.
One of the first things you should do is clean all the debris
from your garden. Get rid of dead foliage, leaves, roots,
stakes and row markers. The debris you clean from your garden
can be added to your compost heap which will be a big help come
spring. You want to be sure, though, not to add any diseased
debris or pest infected dead leaves or stalks in your compost
pile. You don't want to accidentally spread a disease from this
year's garden to next year's.

And now that you're in cleaning mode, get out the rake and
attack those fallen leaves scattered across your lawn. Why is
it so important to remove leaves from your lawn? Because the
grass underneath the leaves still needs all light it can get.
Raking leaves from your lawn also lets adequate air and
moisture get to living plants in your yard. After all, you
don't want any of your lovely grass and plants to suffocate!

Winterizing your garden also means mulching. You want to spread
a light layer of mulch, just a few inches of it, around your
trees and shrubs. This helps keep the underground temperature
more stable throughout the winter, as well as offers
much-needed protection to roots underneath the surface.
Careful, though, too much mulch will become a home for rodents,
which is the last thing you want. Mice just love to chew on
bark, so don't give them a place to hide while they munch away.


When winterizing your garden, you will also want to take the
time to plan next year's vegetable garden. After ridding your
vegetable garden plot of debris, old leaves and roots, plan
where you want to put next year's vegetables. Take a pad with
you out to the garden and make a sketch of where you want to
put all your lovely vegetable plants in the spring. Doing this
helps you make the most use of your garden area. No space goes
unused if you take the time to plan—which means more delicious
vegetables for you next summer and fall!

You'll also want to be sure you've taken proper care to
winterize your garden equipment and tools. Drain the gas from
your lawnmower's tank, weed eater and other garden equipment.
You may also want to put the battery from the lawnmower and any
other garden equipment into storage where it will remain at a
steady, above-freezing temperature. This will help lengthen the
life of the battery, which is good, because there's nothing
worse than getting ready or needing to mow only to find your
lawnmower battery is dead.

Take the time to put your tools and gardening utensils away for
their long winter's nap too. Make sure they're stored where mice
can't nibble on the handles (they like all kinds of wood, you
know). Also make sure they're all cleaned before you store them
away. And yes, please throw away any tools that are worn out and
replace them or start dropping hints to your family and friends
about tools and equipment you need for gardening. This not only
gives your family ideas for holiday gifts, it ensures that you
won't be all excited and ready to start next year's gardening
only to have tools breaking on you left and right, leaving you
frustrated and having to make extra trips to the local home
improvement store.

Now that your garden tools are ready for winter, the next step
in winterizing your garden is to hit the local bookstores (or
favorite online gardening site!). Yes, you read that correctly.
Once the work of winterizing your garden's behind you, it's time
to curl up on the sofa in front of the fire with a lovely stack
of gardening books beside you. Because the only thing that
comes close to bringing you the same enjoyment that being in
your garden does is being engrossed in a great book about
gardening!


About The Author: Scott J. Patterson is the owner of Wow
Gardens Weekly, a newsletter filled with fr*e gardening tips
and information. For weekly gardening advice and a fr*e rose
gardening ebook, check-out the following link:
http://www.wowgardens.com/wg.html