Planting and cultivating a garden is an extremely rewarding experience, and the 117.6 million Americans who garden every year would most likely agree. Although you may not think of winter as a time to put thought into your garden, it’s a great time to do so. Even if you don’t have a garden of your own at your home or apartment, there are great community gardens where you can get a plot and grow your own flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Here are some ways that you can use the winter to prepare your garden for spring.
Picking Where Your Garden Will Go
If it’s the first year that you’re going to have a garden, the first thing to do during the winter to plan out where you’ll have your garden. If you own your home and you have free reign over the lawn, you can do pretty much anything you want. Many people use garden beds to go around the perimeter of their home, but you can easily have standalone garden beds. If you already have a garden and you want to change the layout or design, the winter is a great time to plan out the changes.
If you live in an apartment or otherwise don’t have a lawn that you can turn into garden beds, you should consider renting a community garden plot. Not only does a community garden plot mean that you’ll be able to plant your own produce and flowers, but you’ll also get the chance to interact with other people in your community. There are tons of articles out there with tips for your community garden plot, and winter planning means that you’ll have time to do your research before you start planting. Not having a yard doesn’t have to stop you from cultivating your own plants.
Put Out a Bird Feeder
In the winter, birds have fewer food options readily available. Any birds that stay in your area for the winter will become regulars at your bird feeder. This is a great way to engage your kids in a conversation about the outdoors and learn about local wildlife. Plus, once spring comes around, the birds that always come to your yard will be ready to pollinate any wildflowers you may plant.
Think About What You Want to Plant
Since winter is the perfect time to plan, you have the chance to figure out exactly what you want to plant for the next season. In fact, you can plan out what you want to plant for the entire year if you know that you won’t have the time to dedicate to it when you’re also going to be spending time doing work on your garden.
Do you want to plant vegetables, fruits, flowers, or herbs? Once you’ve figured out what you want to plant, you can begin to figure out when the best time to plant them is and where in your garden they’ll do best. From there, you can plan out the layout of your garden and make a loose planting schedule.
Order Seeds
Once you’ve figured out what plants you want in your garden, you can figure out what plants you want to start from seeds. This is also a great time to order the seeds for any of your spring plants because you won’t have to worry about any shipping delays or stocking issues that may happen when you order your seeds closer to when you want or need to plant them.
If you want to shrink or reshape garden beds in your yard, you can also order grass seed. If you want to have your lawn hyrdroseeded, a cost-effective and high-quality method of lawn seeding that will garner you visible growth in seven days, you can research local services for hydroseeding. Otherwise, you should look into your best options for seeding your lawn and making sure that your garden beds are the correct shape and size to match your plans.
Clean Your Tools
Although you may not be able to get out and plant during the winter, you can use the time to get all of your tools in perfect working order. You may not deep clean your tools during the rest of the year, and this is the perfect time to do that. Any of your tools that are meant to be sharp can be sharpened, all of them can be thoroughly cleaned, and you can fix any issues that may have come up during the year. You can fix loose handles, repair broken parts, and if something has become unfixable, it’s a great time to replace the tool before you need it. With the holidays and the post-holiday sales that happen during winter, you can surely find a great deal on the tools that you need.
Consider Garden Accessories
If you want to add some personality to your garden, you should consider adding in some garden accessories, like wind chimes, water catchers, or solar-powered lights. Solar power generates an estimated 62.5 gigawatts of power, so it can definitely handle the lights lining your garden or highlighting your favorite plants. If you already put in your bird feeder, you can also consider adding a birdbath to encourage more flighted friends to stop by.
Gardening is a great activity, and it can mean that you have fresh, seasonal produce and a beautiful yard. Community garden plots are a wonderful way to get to know others in your neighborhood and reap the fruits (and vegetables and flowers) of your labor.
Do you have a garden? What do you love planting? Let us know in the comments below.
