Getting Ready For Winter

Wow where does the time go? One day we are busy controlling weeds in our gardens and now it seems we are wondering where all the colors have gone.Ah Old Man Winter is on his way.But,if you are like me you are already planning the changes you will make in your garden for next year,when Mother Nature renews the backyard world with Spring.
Presently between frosts I am reworking the corner garden where the bird's bath has been for many years. In my town they pick up the leaves and lawn debris at the curb,what a waste of great organic matter.As was often said someone garbage is another's treasure,so I use all of the clean (Weed Free)organics I can get my hands on to fortify my organic garden. First I go through the bags of leaves and remove any stones or large branches. Making sure there is nothing there that can hurt my chipper shredder. Then I get to it and shred it all up. Once shredded I recommend composting all of this wonderful organic matter, if you don't have a compost pile or system then it is time to start one.
With my corner garden I took an unorthodox approach to adding organic into the garden, after shredding I used a small Little Giant rototiller top work it into the soil. This will all become worm food and the worms will help create rich garden soil.

This is also a great time of year to get ahead of the weeds for next season, a daily walk through the garden and pulling the last weeds will prevent an attack of the weeds next year. Once you have all the debris cleared away and the last of the weed removed, then it is time to add a nice mulch to keep the ground frozen and prevent sunny day thaws. A early thaw will make the plants to start to grow, just to be killed by the next freeze.
The next thing I do after a health mulching is wind protection. Using burlap, old window and other wind breaks will help prevent the cold dry winds of winter form stealing the vitality from your shrubs and tender perennials.

Looking Forward to Winter! Spring is never far away.