It’s the start of the cold season and soon enough we’ll be welcoming the snow breeze of winter. Some loves the season, while some don’t because the temperature during this time reaches the temperature as low as 0C or even a negative. Flowers and plants react differently every season, how can we help them get ready for the heavy snow?
Seasons in the UK
In the United Kingdom, there are four seasons that happens in a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Spring starts at March, April, and ends on May. The hot summer then follows on June, July and ends at August. The beach and pool are popular during this season to beat the summer heat. The cold breeze starts again on Autumn at the month of September, October and ends in November. Autumn is usually the best season to travel and go around the country as it is not too cold nor too hot. Finally, the winter season starts, and everyone are getting ready to put up their Christmas decors. Expect to experience extreme cold and snow. This is the time where everyone can play with the snow and go ice skating or skiing.
Preparing for Wintering
If you are a green-thumb or your work or business is related to the garden, then you are probably familiar with winterizing. For some, this might be a new thing. Winterizing means that that you are preparing something, specifically your garden, in the cold weather. This is done to reduce the amount of work that you will face during the cold season itself. Here’s a few things you should take note of:
Clean-up Rotting and Finished Plants
Seeing the dead plants on your backyard is not only an eyesore but it can also be a source of disease or illnesses. Old plants are capable of harboring disease, pests and funguses that once you come in contact with can cause you to become ill. Remove the plants from the soil surface and bury them in the garden trenches, this helps prevent pests from laying their eggs on it. It is also an added fertilizer for your healthy plants, improving the overall soil quality and health.
Remove the Weeds
Weeds grow everywhere. This is the best time to deal with them as these invasive weeds harms your garden. Removing them is the only way to prevent them from sprouting all over again on your garden and disrupting it.
Prepare the Soil
Autumn is the great time to dig in the soil amendments like the compost, kelp, manure and even rock phosphate. Adding these serves as nutrients for the soil, enriching it and making the soil ready for when the garden dries out on winter for the first time after a long time. You can also toil the soil to improve the drainage before the sudden changes in the temperature when winter comes. Cover the bed after with a sheet of plastic to protect them from the winter rains that might come. The rain washes away the compost and lessens its effectiveness. Remove it when the spring comes.
Plant Cover Crops
Crops that are ideal for the season are rye, vetch and clover because these crops can prevent the soil erosions cause by the extreme cold weather. It also increases the amount of organic matter in the soil and also serves as the soil’s food. Legume, on one hand, are known to increase the level of the available nitrogen for the vegetables in your garden. Make sure to plant these crops at least a month prior to the first frost.
Plant your Bulbs
Planting bulbs is not really easy, and many gardeners are having a hard time planting them because the soil may be too hard, or they never got the plant it deep enough. Plant them before winter starts and deep enough to have a good protection for the winter and for them to bloom wonderfully when spring comes.
Water is your Plant’s Best Friend
Before the pipes gets ice-cold why not give your plants water? Do this on the new trees, shrubs and even perennials. This extra help will help your plants bear with the cold ground. For better timing, water them a week or two prior to a snow or frost forecast. After using the hose, make sure that they are empty and there is no water left in the gardening supplies to prevent them from getting freeze and damage by the cold.
Winter Jacket
People are not the only ones who wear a jacket! Winter jackets are made to protect the trees and other plants from the harsh wind brought about by the weather. There are two types of the jacket: Fleece and cones. They are put over the plant. Don’t forget to secure them properly so they will not blow off during the most frigid days.
Clean your Garden tools
Keep your tools clean and well-oiled all throughout the year. This is the best season to take care of these tools as you can’t use them most of the months because of the extreme weather. Begin cleaning by washing of the debris and dust off the tools. If rusts are present, use a sandpaper to remove it or a chemical remover and spray it all over the tool. Remove the debris of the rust and apply light machine oil on them to seal the metal oxygen and extend the lifespan of your tools.