Basic Tips for DC School Gardens: Putting your School Garden to Bed
Managing your garden in early winter will result in less work and a better harvest come spring.
1. Spread a thick layer of organic mulch. This will allow organisms to work longer resulting in healthier soil come
spring. Winter mulch can include: chopped leaves, straw, hay, or pine needles. Learn more about the benefits of
different types of mulches throughout the seasons here.
2. Clean out all the annuals. Any plant that isn’t going to come back next year needs to be pulled out by the roots
and disposed of. Chop them up before you put them in the compost bin.
3. Compost all disease-free materials. Use all of the plant materials from this year’s garden to help nourish next
year’s garden. Add raked leaves to the compost pile, too. Covering your compost bin with straw or a tarp will
encourage decomposition through winter.
4. Turn your soil. Turning the soil will help eliminate some pest problems next spring and give all your critters time
to rebuild tunnels and such by spring. Any grubs or eggs from undesirable insects will be broken up, brought to the
surface and feed the birds this fall. Mix in compost at this time.
5. Plant a cover crop. Planting a cover crop is easy. Oats and buckwheat, vetch, or winter rye get scattered over
the garden, covered with a light layer of soil and watered if needed. The cover will crop will die during the first
hard frost and stay on your garden to protect it from weeds until you turn it under in the spring. Check out this
video about how to plant a cover crop for more specific information.
6. Test and amend your soil. An inexpensive, student friendly soil test kit can provide a meaningful lesson for
students of all ages and provide valuable information on how to improve the health of your soil. Amending your soil
in fall allows for long term solutions rather than quick fixes.
7. Clean Tools and store pots, signs etc… Be sure to drain your hoses and pots so they don’t freeze and crack.
Tools can be oiled, and sharpened for spring.
Tips for specific plants:
1. Many herbs (and some vegetables) will come back year after year. Some herbs you can dig up and put in pots
for indoor. Click on link #2 for more info on this.
2. Cover strawberries with straw or hay (so they are ready for Strawberries and Salad Greens in May!).
3. Wait until February to prune any fruit trees.
Tips for growing through the winter:
1. Plant cold hardy veggies; see what’s available by viewing the planting calendar here.
2. Build a small hoop house; check out a video for instructions here.
Some additional resources:
#1http://mastergardener.umd.edu/local/charles/Horticulture%20Know_how/Put%20Your%20Garden%20to%20Bed.cfm
#2 http://www.almanac.com/content/putting-garden-bed
#3 http://edibleschoolyard.org/sites/default/files/GardenCompanion_Singles.pdf (page 40-43 is focused on winter in the
garden)
#4 http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/mulch/mulchland.html
#5 Smith, Edward C., (2000). The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. North Adams, MA; Storey Publishing