Summer is still here, but winter is approaching quickly. Your garden and greenhouses need to be prepared to survive the winter properly with minimal risk, and we have some tips to help you with that!

1. Making your garden beds clean

Make sure to clean all your tools and your garden beds. Remove all dead and rotting plants, as some diseases may spread from the rotting plants to healthy plants. Also be sure to remove the rotting plants entirely and not put them in your compost; that would risk infecting your entire compost pile with disease. Also remember to pull out any weeds.

2. Test your soil

Since your ground will be frozen in winter and you probably won’t want to check your soil in the winter, now is the best time to do so. A standard soil test will reveal at least:
• Lead content
• Soil pH
• Levels of pottasium (K), calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg) and phosphorus (P)
• Level of organic matter present

This will help you decide how much fertiliser and/or lime you need to add to make your soil better, for example, adjusting the soil’s pH.

3. Expand your garden

Getting your work done in advance is a great thing. You don’t have to worry about anything else in the spring, just planting.
If you want to expand your garden, try doing it now and fill your beds with fresh soil, and a layer of mulch. You’ll be ready to plant in the spring.

4. Think about your garden

Think about your garden and what you did this year. Write down everything; from the amount of plants you’ve grown, to the types and also the yelds. Think about stuff you could have done better and try to improve. Make your garden the best it can be. You have the whole winter to prepare

5. Gather leaves

Leaves collected in Fall are great for filling up compost bins, or storing in garbage bags. Be sure to collect them and make a good use of them.
And finally, remember that you can rest with the great feeling of accomplishment.