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winter gardening

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

It’s kind of hard to imagine gardening, as I’m looking out the window to see freezing rain turn to mounds of snow but it’s right around the corner. Spring will be here before you know it. For the last couple of years, I keep waiting until May to start my garden but then May gets away from me and before I know it, summer’s over and I have no tomatoes. The garden just keeps getting pushed aside. This year, I want my tomatoes. I’m pushing through the procrastination and making a plan. This year, we’re considering winter gardening as part of my prep.

With a little organization and planning, your garden can be grow and plant ready this spring when you want to start enjoying it. If we leave our garden all winter the prep work can pile up and become a huge, time-consuming and labor intensive chore. No one wants to be rushing to prep their garden in May because if you’re a parent, you know May’s too busy for that. 

However, by doing a few gardening jobs now will make life a lot less stressful in the future for your garden parties, morning coffee on the deck and working out in the garden. Although the garden can look very dead in winter it isn’t always, flowers are waiting to push through, vegetables can still be grown and lots of animals are hibernating and may be in your garden resting ready for their return in spring.

Maintenance of any Water Areas

In the garden there may be different areas where you have pools of water. If you have a pond you may need to check it and make sure any water plants need cutting back or if the water needs to be treated in any way. If you have a pool or hot tub you may need to get someone in for any pool or hot tub maintenance. A lot of grime and dirt can build up so it is always best to get it sorted. You may even have the occasional animal find its way into your pond that has drowned and needs to be disposed of.

Trimming Plants And Bushes

One of the other things you will want to do is to trim plants and bushes, they should all be dried and looking dead now with all the leaves wilted off. It will be an easy time to prune them down so they can grow again for the next season. If you are ever unsure how much to prune them simply google it or ask your gardening friends. 

Assist The Wildlife In Your Garden

The creatures that comprise the ecosystem of your garden need your assistance now more than ever because they toil tirelessly year-round to eat pests and aerate your soil. It’s your turn to return the favor. If you have bird feeders, hang them up somewhere cats can’t reach them. If you’re crafty, construct a bug hotel. Insects and small mammals can find a place to overwinter if you just leave a pile of fallen branches and leaves in a corner of your yard.

Harvest Your Winter Crops 

Harvesting during the winter will be a lot of work if you’ve produced winter vegetables. It’s even said that hardy brassicas like Brussels sprouts and winter cabbage taste better after a frost. In the winter months, parsnips, leeks, and gorgeous kale are among the other veggies that are ready for harvesting. Not to worry, if you planted your vegetables in the autumn and they aren’t quite ready yet; they are all hardy and will happily grow in the ground till spring. 

If you’re planning a garden this spring, now is the time to get started prepping it so that you can have a hearty harvest this summer. If you’re an avid gardener, what’s your best tip for prepping your garden?

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Yesterday did not go according to plan. But does it ever? What’s the saying? The road to hell is paved with what??? Oh yeah, good intentions. Probably great intentions.

The entire weekend was pretty awesome. If you disregard the groggy feeling that was induced by the Ambien induced sleep. And I thought I was going to awake well rested and ready to conquer the world. Ha! Then there was the freezing weather that we had to till the garden in if we had any hope of planting this weekend.

I know it was my weekend, and my idea for this lovely flower garden, so what kind of a person would I have been if I sat by and watched my poor husband till the garden in 40-degree weather? So, I helped. The tiller nearly pulled me across the yard and into my neighbor’s yard, that would have been solid. I’m sure that would have gotten me thrown out of the association. If you also have a home garden and you happen to spot pests lurking around, it’s best to quickly contact pest control services, such as the ones who specialize in termite control and other possible pests, you can try to get a repellent light like the breeze tec to prevent bugs eating your garden.

There I am being dragged around the garden like a rag doll as my daughters ran amuck and my husband and I hoping and praying the hundreds of dollars we spent on flowers were not for naught since there was a frost advisory..in MAY!!! What? Did this come in just to spite me and my Mothers Day? Seriously!

Once all was said and done, my husband and I were too sore to cuddle or have any “romantic” time together. That was Saturday. Then Sunday, the Mother of all days, I woke up late, I woke up grouchy, I woke up sore, I didn’t make it to mass, spent the day trying to get the flowers into the garden while my poor husband kept trying to shoo me inside so I could rest. I couldn’t rest when there was so much to be done and I surely am not the type to sit around and sit as he is working like a horse in the garden. Poor guy! We also had to hire https://charlotte.sustainablepest.com/termite-control/ for pest control services since our garden was looking grim with insects.

The girls were underfoot trying to help, slowing the process down even further. God bless ’em they were trying. After all was said and done, I have a beautiful flower garden. We ended the day with a deviation from our usual fancy gourmet meal my husband usually prepares. Instead, we had lovely burgers on the grill, grilled potatoes and corn on the cobb ending the meal with strawberry shortcakes. It may not have been the gourmet meal originally planned, but after a hard day of work, it sure hit the spot.

In the end, this weekend reminded me that it is not what you do (or don’t do) on Mother’s Day, it’s who you spend it with! I was blessed enough to spend mine in my garden with my beautiful family. If the amount of love put into this garden is any indication of how beautiful it will be, I will soon be tending the most gorgeous garden in the city. In my garden of life, a plethora of love surely blooms!

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