Winter is not too kind to plants or crops. The gardener needs to know how to protect the garden during the winter. The cold conditions can lead to a wide range of problems for plants, especially those that are growing in tropical regions. This applies, not just to crops and large forest areas, but also to plants you are growing in your garden or your roof.
Irrespective of where they are growing, and what kind of soil you are using, a change in weather is bound to bring changes in your plants’ metabolism. On top of all that, with winter, comes new diseases, which lead to more problems for your plants.
Thus, it is of utmost importance that you take the necessary precautions to protect your garden plants during the winter. And in case you are wondering how here are 5 tips to get you started.
#1 Keep an Eye On The Forecasts
The first thing you have to do to protect your plants is keeping an eye on the weather forecast. Doing so on a day-to-day basis will allow you to prepare for the cold weather accordingly.
There is no fixed date or month when you can be sure that winter will arrive. And more importantly, even when you do see winter setting in, you will have to start your preparations early on, before the cold takes over.
To keep an eye on the weather tomorrow, there are several apps and websites you can trust. Be it rain or sunshine, the platform uses real-time data and advanced radar technology to keep you updated on the latest weather developments. Besides, the data-driven weather forecasts Tomorrow provides also have high accuracy. Hence, you can understand how rapidly the weather around you is changing, and how quickly winter is setting in.
#2 Remove Weeds and Diseased Plants
In an ideal garden, weeds and diseased plants should never be there in the first place. Their presence during the winter can make life even more difficult for your plants.
During winter, it will already be hard for your plants’ roots to fetch nutrients from the soil. Weeds will make that even more troublesome. And while you are weeding, be sure to take out diseased plants too.
#3 Mulching
A traditional method and effective way to protect the soil content, as well as your plants is mulching . You can think of mulch as a blanket that covers your garden plants and protects exposed parts like roots or crowns from freezing temperatures. This mulch layer is especially important for shallow-rooted plants. Their roots are more exposed to the cold weather because of how shallow they are.
With the mulch layer in place, the soil temperature remains somewhat constant. In any case, it will not go down drastically such as to affect the plants. That in turn will help prevent freeze-thaw cycles. The mulch also helps the soil retain moisture, and provides insulation for different types of hardy plants.
For making the mulch, you can use leaves and pine straw, all chopped up in a fine manner. A 3-5 inch layer of mulch will be enough after the first hard freeze.
#4 Watering
Evergreen plants end up losing a lot of water during the winter. And since rainfall is usually scarce during this time, you will have to provide irrigation, at least once a month during winter.
Watering the plants helps the soil keep the moisture. So even when the canopy is dormant, the plants will continue to grow roots. And once you ensure that moisture remains within the soil, you can rest assured that the soil can retain more heat as well. That in turn, will protect the plants’ roots from the cold.
Once again, you should keep an eye on the weather forecast so that you can irrigate at least hours before the freezing weather sets in.
#5 Use Cover Crops
Cover crops will stop your garden soil from eroding. It will also help to break down the compacted areas and increase organic matter levels in the garden beds. Besides, cover crops also contribute nutrition-wise. They will also help to suck carbon from the atmosphere into the soil.
In Conclusion
These are all things that you have to keep in mind as winter starts to set in. The earlier you start planning, the better protection you can give to your garden plants. Always keep an eye on the local weather forecasts so that you can start as soon as the cold winds start to flow in.