Signs of fall are everywhere, and while the urge to clear cut and tidy up your garden is strong, consider following nature’s slow approach to winterizing.
Simply put, winterizing is the act of protecting plants from harsh seasonal elements, rejuvenating soil health and removing any diseased or unwanted plant materials (looking at you, water hemlock). In nature, wildlife consumes decaying plants, fallen leaves build insulation and birds help reseed the land. By working with this natural cycle, the plants, soil, wildlife and your back all benefit.
“You really want to maintain your soil and plants’ health throughout the winter,” said Julie Collins, co-owner of The Flower and The Bean. “A lot of my annuals naturally die back. I don’t cut them down or move them, I just leave them. In the spring, anything that has not broken down into the soil will be cut off, but I leave the plants’ roots because it helps refortify the soil.”
For perennials that require maintenance, Collins waits for a few hard frosts before trimming. This method helps plants go to seed for reseeding and provides food for beneficial insects and birds. Some perennials like milkweed can remain standing overwinter to provide a habitat for pollinators.
“We’re so anxious to clean up our gardens, but that fall mess of the plants dying is the balance of nature,” said Collins.
As the plants begin to decay, Adrian Fielder, assistant dean of instruction at Colorado Mountain College, reminds us that insulation is a key task for winterizing. Biomass materials such as wood chips, leaves, hay and grass clippings are often used as mulch to protect plants from rapid freezing and thawing.
“All the microbes and other organisms that live in the soil slow down during the winter,” he explained. “Nature has these amazing rhythms that give us all a rest, but we do have to protect them from the cold.”
At Rock Bottom Ranch, cover crops are used to help insulate and enrich the soil. Pat Banks, the farm’s director, said they use two varieties of cover crops: winter-kill and overwinter. Winter-kill cover crops, like pea and oat varieties, are planted mid-summer. When crops reach maturity the first hard frost will kill them off, and the crops are left with their root systems intact to nourish the soil. Overwinter crops, such as clover and winter rye varieties, are planted in early fall. At about six inches they become dormant and if protected will resume growing in early spring.
“With any cover crop, you have to know what your motive is,” said Banks. “For us, if we’re doing an overwinter crop we plan that for where a summer crop is going to go because we want to maximize that spring growth in the overwinter cover crop.”
Alongside the garden beds, compost will also benefit from a carbon-rich layer of mulch. Right now, gardeners can collect and chop biomass to build a healthy store. Fielder said town parks are a great place to collect leaves, and kitchen scraps, like apple cores and greens, should continue to be added. Scraps that are difficult to break down, like bones or avocado pits, can be sent to EverGreen ZeroWaste.
“The main thing is to keep stirring and occasionally water the compost. Add as much carbon as you can, at least 10 times as much volume as you add of kitchen scraps,” Fielder stated.
Cultivating a year-round garden
Although winter is always looming in the mountains, there is still time to sow seeds and bulbs for next spring. About six to eight weeks before the ground freezes, perennial seeds, like yarrow and echinacea, and bulbs, like tulips and irises, will overwinter well. It’s important to remember that each plant has different varieties and to check which ones thrive in your climate zone.
“Those cool-loving flowers and plants embrace fall and early spring weather to really establish and become a bigger and healthier plant,” Collins said.
There are also plenty of cold-hardy crops that can fill your garden beds this winter. Banks suggested planting alliums, like onions, leeks and hardneck garlic, by mid-October. Root vegetables will also overwinter, but need proper insulation. About five to seven inches of mulch, or a makeshift hoop house provides plenty of heat.
“I’m a huge winter gardener,” said Banks. “We all think about seasonality and locavorism, but it’s based on summer crops. A big part of my mission is to provide during the winter. If we’re going to have a local food system it needs to be during the winter, too”
Regardless of what and how you choose to grow, all gardeners agree that having fun and enjoying the process is best practice.
“You have to start somewhere and see how it goes,” said Collins. “Everything has its season and cycle, and it’s very interesting to sit back, watch and learn the pattern. I say, just plant and connect!”
Curious about Colorado gardening? Check out Colorado Mountain College’s upcoming community classes: Vegetable Gardening 101 and Seed Saving. Connect with The Flower and The Bean on Instagram @theflowerandthebean.farm and on Oct. 5 at Potato Days.
