How To Take Care Of Your Plants And Garden During Winter

Plants have an annual cycle of their growth, blooming, giving fruits, and succumbing to some sharper weather at the end of the season. Most of the garden plants have a  limited life span and they usually last for a year. However, some of the cultivating techniques may suggest that seeds of some plants should be put in the ground before the first snowfall. These seeds start their growth very early in spring and give fruits earlier than the ones planted in spring. When it comes to indoor plants they can also have a hard time adapting to new weather conditions. Some of the best pieces of advice on how to take care of your plants and garden properly during winter.

Clean Your Garden

While some plants may provide the soil with nutrients when rotting, on other hand, some plants can be the source of disease for the soil or other plants. If you had noticed the diseased plants during the growing season and failed to act, late autumn is a great chance for you to correct the mistake. You should clean all the remains of these plants and make sure that you treated the soil properly. Additionally, the rest of the plants should be left in the garden so they can prevent erosion and protect the soil during winter.

Pay Attention to Watering

When it comes to indoor plants, winter can affect them considerably. The level of hydration should be reduced having in mind that it can negatively influence the roots of plants and even get them frozen if you are keeping them near the window. In this line, almost all indoor plants get into hibernation mode during winter so that they do not need so much water as usual. The best way to check if your plant needs some water is by checking the moisture of the soil an inch below the surface.

Prepare Soil for Spring

It is of essential importance to have your soil prepared for spring. This means you should not wait for spring to add soil nutrients and organic fertilizer and leave it to absorb all the important nutrients for the spring planting. Adding amendments like compost will maintain the biological activity of the soil. In line with this, all the necessary advice on how to take proper care of your garden can be found at HouseandGardenCare.com, and pick up all the knowledge you need on cultivation. Once you put your amendments in the soil you should mulch or sow it for the sake of keeping it at the active root zone.

Fertilizing of Indoor Plants

In accordance with the previously said, indoor plants should not be overfertilized during winter. If the health of your plants is good, then you should completely skip the fertilizer. On the other hand, if there are some yellow leaves and you notice that plants started languishing, then you should use a small amount of fertilizer. If the small amount of fertilizer does not give any results then you can repeat the treatment with the same amount of fertilizer.

Make Compost

Do not let all the plant remains go in vain. You can use dead plants, either fallen leaves, straws, kitchen scraps and mix them with amendments and make your own compost heap. You can make it in the late autumn and use it in spring. This green matter will mix and provide enough nutrients for the soil. On the other hand, it is an amazing way to clean up your garden and recycle the green matter for the soil in the best way.

Do not Cut nor Repot Your Plants

Winter is a problematic period for indoor plants because of the state of hibernation and reduced photosynthesis process. It is not a good idea for your plants to be cut during winter, but you can cut the bad pieces in autumn and prepare them for winter. Accordingly, potting is tough for plants and they will need all the strength from the currently used soil. So, do not re-pot your plants in winter because you might get some unwanted results.

Keep Your Gardening Tools Clean

Keeping your tools clean and sharp will make your life easier. You may find cleaning gardening tools nonsense but it is highly needed as it prevents the spreading of plant diseases. At the end of the season, you must clean and sharpen the tools. If there is some rust on the tools you can clean them with a wire brush or sandpaper. Additionally, you should coat the tools with machine oil and protect them from rusting.

Keeping your garden and indoor plants safe during winter may seem like a demanding task but there are a few strategies you need to follow and there should be no problems.