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Want to get a head start on your spring garden, but not excited about maintaining it throughout the rainy season? In this class, we will discuss strategies—like cover cropping and sheet mulching—for tucking your garden in for a long winter’s nap, and having it be rarin’ to go when you wake it up in the spring.
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Pu!ing Your Gardento Bed for the Winter
Independence GardensPortland, OR
Download the handout that goes along with
this slideshow!h!p://bit.ly/wRv6IN
January 2012© Independence Gardens LLC
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
What We’ll Cover TodayIntro
we are Independence Gardens• We build raised beds, chicken coops,
& other garden infrastructure• Help with garden planning, prep, and
installation• Teach edible gardening classes
• & make Doo Tees!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Topics We’ll Cover• When is the off-season here?• Winter garden timeline
• Soil needs & strategies for protection• Cover cropping
• Sheet mulching• Other garden protectors• A quick run-down of other fall
garden activities
What We’ll Cover TodayPreview
Got Questions? Please ask as we go along.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
When winter’s here...
USDA Zone 8• De"ned by
minimum temps
Sunset Zone 6• De"ned by range
of temps and moisture
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Know your frost dates:
• Conservative: Oct. 24• Experimental: Nov. 15• Pushing it: Dec. 5
Fall-winter timeline
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Winter garden needs
Tuck your garden in properly:
• Protect the soil from compaction and erosion
• Reduce nutrient loss from leaching
• Suppress weeds• Replenish organic ma#er• Improve soil structure
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Microorganisms are happy• Symbiotic
relationships are maintained
You are happy• Much easier to work
in the spring
When soil is happy...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Soil protection
Cover crop/green manure• Loosens and aerates the soil• Adds organic ma#er and nutrients• Enhances soil microbial activity• Improves soil structure
Lasagna gardening/sheet mulching• Easy way to prep new ground for spring
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Cover crop strategy
Mix & match• Tall, deep-rooted structural crop
+ N-"xing legume• Suggestions: hairy vetch and
winter rye, crimson clover
Plant ASAP• Give it time to grow before frost
Chop up and dig in before maturity• Otherwise it could become weedy
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sheet mulching instructions
Do it early• Give the process enough time to work
Lay it thick• Loosen soil & remove noxious weeds• Lay newspaper or cardboard• Build in ~1 inch layers of alternating “browns” and
“greens”• Put a layer of dirt (compost or garden soil) on top
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sheet mulching instructions
Do it early• Give the process time to work
Lay it thick• Loosen soil & pull noxious weeds• Lay newspaper or cardboard• Build in ~1 inch layers of
alternating “browns” and “greens”• Put a layer of dirt (compost or
garden soil) on top
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
GREENS
- fruit & vegetable scraps- coffee grounds- rice & pasta- eggshells - tea bags- $owers- plant trimmings- hedge clippings and other yard debris - fresh grass (small amounts)- animal manures (not cat, dog, or human)
Sheet composting YESes
BROWNS
- coffee "lters- houseplant cu#ings - stale bread- paper napkins & towels- clean cardboard/paper- leaves- straw or hay- small twigs/chips- dried grass & weeds- animal bedding (sawdust)- wood ash
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Other garden protection
• Straw• Leaves• Buckets, bags, baskets, boxes,
milk jugs• Cloches• Cold frames• Hotbeds• Greenhouses• Sunrooms• Windowsills (with
supplemental light)
NOTE: You cannot and should not try to recreate spring or summer during fall and winter, but you can protect your plants from ge#ing beaten up, frozen, or blown to smithereens
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
• Harvest/storage/preservation
• Garden cleanup• Weed management• Invasive species removal• Pest control• Soil amendment
Other fall-winter activities
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Final notes
• Remember: Your primary goal is soil protection and nutrient retention through the rainy months
• If you don’t cover crop or sheet mulch, at least cover vacant beds with straw or leaves
• Fall is a good time to add lime to acidic soils, and a good time to add slow-release organic fertilizers
• And you could still grow some food through the winter...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Questions?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
