Winter is here, and the cold, wet weather can make a pretty good excuse for staying inside. But the cold weather shouldn’t prevent you from tending to your garden and neglecting it over the colder months. There’s no point spending all summer tending to your garden, only to forget about or ignore your garden when the seasons change. So, don’t put your gloves and tools away just yet, there’s still a bit of gardening to do!
Your garden requires specific care over the colder months to ensure your plants can continue to grow. In fact, some of your plants will actually thrive in the colder months and do most of their growing over this time to be ready for spring or summer.
Here’s How You Can Make Your Garden Flourish Over Winter:
Move Your Potted and Tropical Plants
Any plants that thrive on warmth should be moved to a porch or verandah, so they’ll be more protected from the elements. Your potted plants will require less water over the winter months, but when you do water them, mix a small amount of warm water into your watering can as the freezing water will shock the roots.
Spring Clean in Winter
Winter is the time to clear your gardens of weeds, dead plants, and anything else that could be a nuisance to your garden. You should prepare your garden to be free of disease for the winter months. You should also clear or replace any frames or stakes in your garden that are supporting your plants.
Support Your Plants
If you have any plants that look a little fragile, you should support them with frames or stakes to ensure they don’t get damaged by weather extremes. You can also cover your plants with cloth of plastic coverings overnight, particularly if there’s going to be a frost.
Make Use of the Extra Leaves
If you haven’t already got a compost system going, you should definitely start one. Any leftover leaves from autumn will make for some high-quality mulch that you can use as fertiliser which will help protect your plants over winter and prevent soil erosion.
Know What To Plant Over Winter
Certain vegetables are best planted in the winter. Broccoli, cabbage, peas, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots and beets are ideal veggies to plant in the cooler months. Daisies and pansies are ideal winter floral options.
Prepare a New Gardening Spot
Think ahead to your summer gardening goals, and prep what needs to be done before then so come summer you can get cracking straight away. You can set up a new garden bed, complete with layers of organic materials such as compost, leaves and straw. By summer, your new garden bed will be perfectly primed for planting.
Make Use of the Rainwater
Don’t let the rainwater go to waste. Install a water tank to collect rainwater to use for household water supply and watering your garden. If you already have or are installing a rain water tank, you should check the health of your gutters. Your gutters should be clean and clear of any debris, such as sticks, leaves and birds’ nests, so rain water can flow freely into your water tank. Fitting gutter guard protection such as gutter mesh is the ideal solution for protecting your gutters from collecting debris and contaminating your water.
Aussie Gutter Protection are the leading gutter protection specialists in Melbourne and can develop a customised gutter protection solution for your home. Aussie Gutter Protection also specialise in bird-proofing measures to eliminate pesky birds that can damage your home and your garden. Call the team to discuss your gutter protection and bird proofing needs.
