We’ve reached the end of the growing season here in Lowell — though we may have a few nice days here and there, the majority of the plants are slowing down production and our gardens are ready for their long winter’s nap.
So, what now? It’s time to put your garden to bed for the winter. If you’re like me, the end of the season has you feeling a little bit tired, and it’s really tempting to just leave it all there. But if you take some time now to clear out your growing space, not only will your future self thank you, but your garden will be a lot healthier next spring, too!
Clean Up Time: Putting Your Growing Space to Bed for Winter
Though you’ve spent the last few months lovingly tending to your garden, nurturing it, watering it, weeding it, begging it to grow and produce … it’s time to do a complete 180 and get ruthless. It’s time to rip it all out.
Is it a little sad? Yes. Is it also extremely satisfying? ALSO YES.
It can also be a little overwhelming. I like to use a three pile method!
As you clear out your beds, pay attention to the plants you’re pulling up and divide them into three piles. Healthy annuals go in the first pile, annuals that shows signs of disease go in the second, and dreaded weeds go in the third pile.
First we’ll deal with the latter two piles. Spent plant matter is awesome for soil nutrition, but not if they’re full of seeds or disease. Fall is when all annual plants set seed, and if you mix weeds into your compost, it’s pretty likely that you’ll end up with compost that’s full of weed seeds. Dump them in a natural part of your property if possible, or if you live in the city they can be disposed of with yard waste.
Diseased-looking annual plants also shouldn’t go in your compost pile, to avoid spreading around whatever yuck they contracted. Diseased plants should be disposed of in the trash, or burned if you’re allowed to do so where you live.
Healthy annual plants are the best of all — these can go on your compost, or in some cases be piled right back on top of the garden bed. You can also set aside this pile for use in a lasagna bed — more on that later!
What About Perennials?
If you’re new to gardening, here’s a quick refresher: annuals only live one year. Perennials come back every season. Your perennials are dying back right now as well. Many you can leave, many you need to cut back, many of them can be composted while many should not be. To list them all here would be not only lengthly but also pretty darn boring for you to read! In general, perform basic cleanup in your perennial beds. Do one last weeding to prevent weeds from setting seed.
Hollow spent perennial stems are also an important habitat for wild pollinators. Consider this your free pass to leave them standing — instead of cutting them back to ground level, simply cut back the stems to about one or two feet tall, exposing the hollow centers. Your native pollinator friends will thank you, taking shelter inside the stems to lay eggs for the following spring. And next spring, your perennial will emerge and new growth will cover the spent stems.
Think About Next Spring — The Lasagna Method
Even though we’re in the middle of cleanup, you can use the work you’re doing now to get a jump on next season … and save yourself a little money too.
The lasagna gardening method is a super easy way to create a new growing space without buying bags of soil or amendments. This method works great in both raised beds and open growing areas, and uses organic materials you’re cleaning up right now. You can even start a lasagna bed right over grass and weeds, since the thick layers will block out the light, smother and kill whatever is below.
You want to start with a biodegradable base like cardboard or newspaper, and then alternate layers of “browns” and “greens.” Eventually it will all compost in place and leave you with rich soil to plant in next spring.
Brown Materials — Carbon Rich
Cardboard or newspaper (bottom layer only)
Dead leaves
Small sticks
Sawdust
Yard waste
Old potting soil (yup, dump out your summer planters right here)
Green Materials — Nitrogen Rich
Grass clippings (make sure you didn’t spray weed killer on them though!)
Green plants — annuals or other plant matter that do no show signs of disease
Compostable kitchen scraps (make sure to put these under a brown layer to deter critters)
Coffee grounds
Here’s a basic how-to:
- First, mow the area. Though this late in the year, things will be dormant soon and you may be able to skip that step!
- Lay down your cardboard or newspaper if you’re establishing a new garden plot. You may want to wet it down or put a few rocks on the corners to keep it from blowing away. If you’re just refilling a raised bed, you can skip this step too. (I love it when I can skip steps!)
- Continue to build layers. The cardboard counts as a brown layer, so a green layer comes next. Each green layer should be 2 to 3 inches thick.
- Follow this with another layer of brown. Each brown layer should be a little larger, about 4 to 6 inches thick.
- Continue this pattern until you have at least four layers, but you can definitely go higher! If it seems too high, remember that over the winter this will all break down.
- Wet it all down with the hose to start the magical decomposition process.
- Go inside for the winter. Emerge in the spring, gaze upon your new growing area and thank your past self!
Leave the Leaves?
Okay, let’s talk about leaves. In an absolutely perfect world, we would all follow the cry of experts everywhere and “leave the leaves.” Leaves are basically free fertilizer for your lawn and your garden — they’re full of nutrients that will return to the soil, feeding your garden or lawn in the process.
But every year around 8 million tons of leaves are shipped off to landfills anyway.
The city of Lowell does not have a system for leaf clean up. The Lowell Police Department reminded us last week that they are considered refuse and if you live in the city, you can’t rake them into the street.
My advice? Put your leaves to work in your lawn or garden. This doesn’t mean you should completely skip raking — a thick layer of leaves will kill whatever is underneath it. It’s best to keep up with the leaves as they fall — even though the grass has likely stopped growing, continue to run over your lawn when there’s a thin blanket of leaves with your lawnmower. The majority of these mulched leaves are going to quickly disappear right into the grass. On our farm there are a few areas that have a lot of excess leaves, and those I do rake up and pile it on top of my growing rows. You can rake chopped up leaves directly into your landscape beds or into your compost also.
If there are areas where you can get away with leaving the leaves completely untouched, do it. Leaves are also an important habitat for overwintering insects and small animals like toads and turtles. If you want to see beneficial bugs in your yard next year, give them a place to stay over the winter.
All that said, I know those of you in the city may be dealing with a ton of leaves, and you’re going to get some major side eye if you don’t rake. If you MUST rake and bag your leaves, please don’t send them to the landfill! If you’re looking for an alternative to trashing your leaves, consider dropping them off at Better Place Farm. This local family farm will take those leaves off of your hands and put them to great use. For more information, visit their website or reach out to them on Facebook:
And there’s still time to plant!
One more tip — fall is a great time to plant perennials and trees. We’ve had some unseasonably warm weather this year and there are a lot of things you can plant right up until the ground freezes — time to troll the discounted perennial sections! You’ll be glad you did come spring time!
Nicole Crocker is a specialty cut flower farmer and owner of Buddy and Bean Flower Farm in Lowell. You can find her flower arrangements on her roadside stand when they’re in season. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram, or at www.buddyandbeanflowers.com.
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