What to do in the Veggie Garden At The End of the Season
1. Make a Map: Before deconstructing the veggie garden, do a quick sketch or at least take photos of where everything is so you don’t plant the same crop in the same space next year. Rotating crops reduces diseases and insects on next year’s veggies, plus it reduces nutrient deficiencies. To learn more about vegetable gardening click on Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
2. Harvest: Gather any remaining crops and discard any unhealthy ones including those lying on the ground. If you are unsure on when to harvest specific crops click on Harvesting.
3. Crops to Keep: Brussel sprouts, chard, cabbage, turnips, kale & carrots become tastier with a slight frost so keep on harvesting as long as the plants are producing and tasting good. For more on veggie gardening click here.
4. Clean & Tidy: Unlike garden beds, veggie gardens need to be cleaned of all debris. This reduces overwintering diseases and insects. The only exceptions are crops that are still viable and don’t mind the cold: Brussel sprouts, chard, cabbage, turnips, kale & carrots. Be vigilant cleaning up debris from tomato plants, including any fruit that are on the ground.
5. Weed: Make sure you get all their roots, any runners, flowers and seed heads. For seedy areas, sprinkle corn gluten on top of the soil to prevent remaining weed seeds from germinating. Corn gluten is available where garden products are sold.
5. Weed: Make sure you get all their roots, any runners, flowers and seed heads. For seedy areas, sprinkle corn gluten on top of the soil to prevent remaining weed seeds from germinating. Corn gluten is available where garden products are sold.
6. Peas, beans and other legumes: Instead of pulling up your peas and beans at the end of the season, leave the roots in the soil. As members of the legume family, these miracles of nature possess the ability to absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in their roots in tiny nodules. This is referred to as nitrogen fixation. To keep the nitrogen nodules in the soil, just cut off the above ground portion of the plant instead of pulling them up.
7. Protect the Soil: Once veggie beds have been cleaned up, cover the soil with 3 inches of straw, fall leaves or shredded newspaper. The thicker the better. I like to stomp it down then water it thoroughly to help keep it in place. This prevents heavy rains from leaching away nutrients, eroding soil and weeds from taking hold.
8. Plant cover crops such as crimson clover in September at the latest. A good source for cover crops is West Coast Seeds.
9. Plant garlic! Select a well-drained, sunny site and add some compost, as they are heavy feeders. Break apart the cloves from the bulb and plant them 2 to 3 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. Don’t forget to label! Harvest next summer.
10: Protect Crops: Protect kale and other overwintering crops with row covers (cloches) made of hoops covered with spun-bonded polyesters or plastic. The fabric is a better choice as it allows water and to penetrate and helps insulate against the cold.
11. Tomato Clean-up: To prevent overwintering insects, diseases and any volunteer seedlings that may pop up next year clean up ALL tomato debris including any left on the ground. If you want to save the seeds of tasty tomatoes for next year click here to learn how.
12: Remove supports: Take away the supports from plants that no longer need them such as tomato cages and trellises for cucumbers and other climbing veggies. Wash or spray with 50/50 Lysol and water solution, dry and store.
12: Remove supports: Take away the supports from plants that no longer need them such as tomato cages and trellises for cucumbers and other climbing veggies. Wash or spray with 50/50 Lysol and water solution, dry and store.
13. Composting Crop Debris: Break and cut up non-buggy and disease-free plants into smaller pieces before putting them in the compost bin. Avoid adding ripe tomatoes and potato skins if the compost isn’t hot enough (43°C to 60°C (110°F to 140°F)) to kill them. For more on composting, click here.
14: Feed the Soil: Mix in at least a couple of inches of compost, well-rotted manure, SeaSoil and other organic matter into the soil now so you won’t have to do it in spring. For more on how to improve soil click on Soil Building. To learn how to make compost tea, a nutritional treat for soils, click here.
15. Make New Beds: Need more room to plant more crops? There’s no need to dig up the lawn, in fact, there’s no need to dig at all, when you use the lasagna gardening (sheet mulching) method. It’s a quick, easy and efficient way to new gardens.
To learn more about veggie gardening check out the following links:
- Growing Food - Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting - Harvesting - Growing Potatoes -
Winter Veggie Gardening - Taming Tomatoes - Speeding up Tomato Harvest - Tomato Troubles - Saving Tomato Seeds
- Growing Food - Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting - Harvesting - Growing Potatoes -
Winter Veggie Gardening - Taming Tomatoes - Speeding up Tomato Harvest - Tomato Troubles - Saving Tomato Seeds