Homegrown: End of Season Vegetable Garden Care
“Gardening is the work of a lifetime, you may never finish.” Oscar de la Renta
Fall is in full swing and it’s time to put our veggie gardens to bed for the season. Don’t think of this as the end of this year’s garden, but the start of next year’s!
Whether you have raised beds or an in-ground garden, there are a few things you need to do now in order for next year’s garden to thrive:
1. Finish your harvest. Many people have given up on their summer garden and will be pleasantly surprised by some late bloomer veggies. Pick any unripe tomatoes and bring inside to finish ripening on the kitchen counter. Pick any other remaining veggies and have one last summer vegetable feast.
2. Remove your finished veggie/annual herb plants. Dead, rotting plants are the perfect host for pests and plant diseases. Removing your plants is a key step to preventing these issues next year. Pull up your annual vegetable/herb plants by the root and add to your compost pile or yard waste bin. Be sure not to compost and moldy or diseased plants.
3. Weed! Once your veggie plants are out, dig up any weeds that have invaded your garden area. You can pull these out with your hands or a garden hoe.
4. Prep your soil for Spring! Replenish nutrients to ensure your soil in prime condition for spring planting. This year’s plants soaked up all of those precious nutrients, so they have to be added back. Doing this step now will save you time and effort in the spring. Add a thick layer of compost (from home compost or store bought bags) to the top of your garden and turn over with a shovel to mix it in with your current soil.
5. Add mulch. Adding a thick layer of mulch to the top of your garden helps prevent weed growth and also protects against nutrient runoff from rain and snow.
6. Clean and store your garden tools. Put away your trellises, tomato cages, and other supplies for use next year. Rinse off dirt from shovels and other tools. Sharpen any blades that need it.
7. Take notes! Jot down your favorite plants and varieties of the season, as well as what didn’t do so well. What do you want to change or add for next year? Do this while it’s fresh in your memory. Next year I’ll be planting more leaf lettuces, and probably will only do one banana pepper plant. Now is also the perfect time to plan any additions to your garden space. Our tomatoes outgrew their cages very quickly this year, so the hubs and I are going to get creative with a trellis system for them next year.
This may seem like a lot of extra work, but it can easily be done in an hour or so and will have you ahead of schedule next year. Once your cold weather garden prep is done, enjoy your much deserved break from weeding and watering! Cozy up inside and daydream about next year’s garden.
With the end of our summer gardens comes the end of our Homegrown Blog serie. I’ll be back early next year to help you plan and prepare for Spring. Thank you so much for following along and allowing me to share my homegrown recipes with you! Have a great Fall!
-Megan