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.

1. January 2012
© Independence Gardens LLC
Download the handout
that goes along with
this slideshow!
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Pu ing Your Garden
to Bed for the Winter
Independence Gardens
Portland, OR
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

2. What We’ll Cover Today
Intro
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

3. What We’ll Cover Today
Preview
Topics We’ll Cover Got Questions?
• When is the off-season here?
Please ask as we go along.
• Winter garden timeline
• Soil needs & strategies for protection
• Cover cropping
• Sheet mulching
• Other garden protectors
• A quick run-down of other fall
garden activities
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

4. 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

5. Fall-winter timeline
Know your frost dates:
• Conservative: Oct. 24
• Experimental: Nov. 15
• Pushing it: Dec. 5
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

6. 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

7. When soil is happy...
Microorganisms
are happy
• Symbiotic
relationships are
maintained
You are happy
• Much easier to work
in the spring
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Sheet composting YESes
GREENS BROWNS
- fruit & vegetable scraps - coffee lters
- coffee grounds - houseplant cu ings
- rice & pasta - stale bread
- eggshells - paper napkins & towels
- tea bags - clean cardboard/paper
- owers - leaves
- plant trimmings - straw or hay
- hedge clippings and - small twigs/chips
other yard debris - dried grass & weeds
- fresh grass (small amounts) - animal bedding (sawdust)
- animal manures (not cat, - wood ash
dog, or human)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

13. Other garden protection
• Straw
• Leaves
• Buckets, bags, baskets, boxes,
milk jugs
• Cloches
• Cold frames
• Hotbeds
NOTE: You cannot and should not try to
• Greenhouses recreate spring or summer during fall and winter,
but you can protect your plants from ge ing
• Sunrooms beaten up, frozen, or blown to smithereens
• Windowsills (with
supplemental light)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

14. Other fall-winter activities
• Harvest/storage/
preservation
• Garden cleanup
• Weed management
• Invasive species removal
• Pest control
• Soil amendment
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

15. 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

16. Questions?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012