For most, winter is the time to relax after months of outdoor maintenance, but it’s actually a great time to prepare for the next season, getting everything ready for spring. So here are some Winter Garden Maintenance tips to get you started.
Take advantage of the slow winter months to prepare and prime your garden for the upcoming spring season. This is true both for your back garden at home (garden maintenance), and any land you may have at your business or commercial properties (estate maintenance) that needs regular work.
Below are some easy ticks and tips to keep your garden healthy and growing even if there’s frost or snow, and provide your plants a jump start for when it’s time to bloom!
We usually think of mulch as something to add in the spring and summer to retain moisture and prevent weed growth; however, mulch protects bulbs and plants by retaining moisture and protecting plants from root damage which is critical when temperatures frequently change during the winter months. This is an essential part of gardening and landscaping.
Literally! Adding pines and spruces will give your garden a fresh and green look even through the harsh winters. There is enough precipitation and moisture during the winter to build a strong root system and sustain your newly planted evergreens during the heat of the summer.
This may be something we don’t give much thought, but keeping those dead plants can make your plants susceptible to pests, diseases, and fungi that remain in the old plants. We recommend you remove them from the surface to reduce risk of springtime pests.
Replacing old tools that are broken, sharpening your current tools, and giving them a good clean is a great activity for downtime in the winter season. Rubbing your tools with some light machine oil prevents oxidisation and protects them for another year of use.
The tool maintenance doesn’t stop with the tools itself, this is also a great time to give some tender loving care to your garden shed.
This is a great time for some gardening professional development! Catch up on reading those gardening books and magazines you couldn’t read during the spring or summer.
Another opportunity for learning and growth includes creating a gardening notebook. Taking notes helps detect possible areas of weakness such as successes, or failures, in plant placement, moisture levels, and the fertility of the soil. Jotting these notes down can help you reveal optimum growing times and conditions for seasonal fruits and vegetables. You could also use your gardening notebook to create goals about new plants to try or write an inventory of seeds and tools in your garden or shed.
Of course, things like weather are out of our control, but taking notes on what grew well, what didn’t, and the reasons why can help optimise your gardening habits.
Our final Winter Garden Maintenance tip for you is if you have pets or children running in the backyard, try to section off your garden during the winter months as heavy foot traffic can be damaging to your garden. For those with a sectioned off garden this won’t be very difficult to manage. Try adding some stakes and chicken wire to surround the garden and protect the ground during these months.
And if all of that sounds too much for you to handle, Property Maintenance Reading offer a cost effective Garden Maintenance Service that takes the stress away from you an delivers exceptional results. Get in contact with us today for your free quotation.