Preparing your garden for spring starts now.

Can you believe how fast time goes? My mom said the older you get the faster it goes. She was right. Summer is slowly changing to fall. The fresh ripe garden tomatoes will soon give way dry store bought one. The smell of just picked Long Island corn will be a sweet memory. And soon pumpkin spice will be everywhere. You look out of you window and wonder there did the summer go.

If you have a vegetable garden, you are probably picking the last of your summer crops. The weeds have taken hold, and time goes too fast to get to it. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to clean it before fall. The more you do now the better your garden in the spring. There are a few things you can do that won’t take too much time and will benefit you for the next growing season. I have been gardening since I was a kid and continued to do it professionally for most if my life. Here are a few things I learned to help prepare your garden for spring.

Clean up – You need to get rid of the weeds and old diseased plants. Pull the perennial grasses and weeds and compost them or bag them in paper lawn bags for pick up. Remove the plant stems but instead of disturbing the soil cut the plants at the soil level so the roots can add organic matter to the soil. Organic matter (O.M. to those in the know) is very important to hold moisture and retain nutrients in your soil.

Soil test – If you have never performed a soil test or haven’t for a while it would be great to do that now. A test can be completed for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium but at the very least you can do a pH test. This will help you determine if you need to add lime to adjust the soil. Plants do best in slightly acid soil. A more moderate soil pH also allows more nutrients to be available to the plants. If the soil test determines you need lime add it now because it takes time to effectively change the pH.

Plant for next year – You may think planting is over, but you can plant garlic, spinach and cole crops such as kale now to either over winter or eat later in the fall.

Mulch – Most garden soils lack organic matter. Once your garden has been cleaned you can add compost, straw, leaves or manure to the soil. You can either dig it in or leave it on top in a no-till situation.

Green Manure - A method I like to use a cover crop these plants will add organic matter, hold the soil in place and out compete weeds. Plants such as cereal rye or oats grow quickly in cool temperatures. I also use crimson clover or hairy vetch to add nitrogen to help next year’s vegetables get off to a good start. In the spring you can cut them down and plant into them or turn them into the soil.

These are basic things you need to do before winter. If you complete them you will have a very productive and happy garden.