There might be less to do in your garden during winter, but a reprieve from the main workload frees up time to focus on the tasks you’ve put off doing for a while. Our six winter gardening tips will keep you busy all season. From cleaning up the garden to tackling a new gardening activity and even starting your spring seeds indoors, there are many activities to keep you busy during this dreary time of the year.
Top winter gardening tips
Clean up the garden
Winter is the best time to clean up your garden and get it in tip-top shape for the next growing season. Remove weeds and spread a thick layer of clean mulch around your plants. This will help to keep the weeds at bay and keep your plants warmer during the cooler months.
Prune old branches
Late winter is the best time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs when they’re dormant and deadheading flowers. It’s not only easier to see what needs to be pruned, but it’s easier to spot dead, diseased, damaged, or crossing branches that need to be removed. Late winter pruning also promotes fast regrowth in spring.
Start a new gardening activity
Winter is a great time to think about other activities you can do that will benefit your garden. Why not start a compost heap or bin. It’s a great way to turn your old food scraps into nutrient-rich organic fertiliser for your garden. If you’ve been meaning to build some raised garden beds, you can tackle this activity while there’s not much growing in the garden. If you’ve given your gardening tools a good working, then spend time over winter cleaning and restoring them to get them ready for the next growing season. Or use this time to set up a sprinkler system, install a water tank or build a native bee house.
Care for indoor plants
Your indoor plants may live in a more temperature-controlled climate inside your home, but that doesn’t mean they’re not affected by winter’s harsh weather. During winter, indoor plants need to be cared for too as their environment changes. Dry air from your heater, the shorter days and limited light can all impact indoor plants. Move your indoor plants around your house as the seasons change to give them the sunlight they need; keep them away from heaters; and monitor the moisture of the soil. Indoor plants don’t require as much water in winter as they do in summer, so be careful not to overwater them. Test the soil by sticking your finger to the knuckle into the soil. If it’s dry, your plant needs water.
Plan your spring garden
It’s not fun gardening when it’s cold and wet outside. Make the most of the time spent indoors during winter by planning out your spring garden. Research the fresh produce or flowers that grow best in spring and start mapping out where they’ll grow best in your garden. Then get started on germinating those plants indoors. Find out more below.
Kickstart your spring garden indoors
Winter is a great time to start preparing for the next growing season. You might be used to sowing your seeds directly into the ground when the temperature is warmer, but in winter, it’s best to start seeds inside the home where it’s warmer, and there is no risk of frost. You’ll not only have a better germination success rate, but you’ll have a bunch of healthy seedlings ready to be planted out in spring after the danger of frost has passed. Before sowing the seeds, make sure they can be transplanted once sprouted. We recommend echinacea, cornflowers, violas, marigolds, snapdragons, and sunflowers.
