By now, most of you have put your gardens to bed for the winter, drained hoses, mulched leaves and put your tools away until spring. There are some things that still can be done and can continue throughout the winter. We can’t be locked in the house all winter, so here are some things you can do for winter chores in the garden.
Get your bird feeders ready for the long winter for our feathered friends. Clean the feeders out and get them ready. Be sure and keep them full for fall and winter birds. To me there is nothing better than seeing cardinals, with their bright red coloring against all the white snow! So I keep black oil sunflower seeds in one of my feeders for them. Perennials like echinacea, rudbeckia and ornamental grasses can be kept long for winter interest in the garden as well as some protection for the birds.
You need to get those plants ready for their long winter nap. Mulch around the base of landscape plants. Wrap evergreen trees and shrubs with burlap to protect them from winter burn. Cover young tree trunks with tree guards to prevent deer and rabbit damage to them. We all remember how last winter the rabbits were very active!
You need to get those chemicals ready for winter storage. Close up or seal all garden chemicals that you won't be using until spring. Keep all granular chemicals in a cool, dry location. Store liquid chemicals in an area that won’t freeze.
Clean and store your outdoor pottery. We all like to use those fancy pots outside our front doors, but they can freeze and crack if you have things planted in them. If you want to use them, find a plastic pot that will fit inside your pretty container that you can plant your porch pot into and then slip it into your container. If you make up a spruce tip planter make sure you keep it watered until the ground freezes to help the greenery stay fresh looking all winter long. If you plan on storing some containers, clean them up with a good wire brush and store them in a dry location over the winter.
You still have time to do dormant seeding of grass seed in your yard. You don’t want it to germinate, so that is why you do it so late in the season. Rough up those bare spots in your lawn as you need to have good soil to seed contact and put your grass seed down and lightly rake it into the soil. I did this one year as the first few snowflakes were flying and had really good success in the spring with it coming up and filling in nicely.
So if you thought you were all done for the season - here are some things to do to keep you out in the yard as the snow flies, which I hope won’t be for a while yet!