How to Prepare the Vegetable Garden for Spring

The last squash has been plucked from its withering vine and the beans are drying from hooks in the barn. Cool season root crops such as turnips and rutabagas should be dug soon and stored in the cellar if they are not already there. Sweet potatoes should be dug and stored as well.

If cool season crops such as cabbage, collards, kale and mustard are still in the garden leave them until a light frost or two falls. These vegetables taste better if allowed to stay in the garden through a light frost. Harvest them before a hard freeze.

Other cool season crops such as Asian cabbage, lettuce, and Swiss chard can be moved to a cold frame to extend their harvest. The majority of these vegetables can be harvested until the first hard freeze. The clean up will begin when all plants have been harvested.

Clean-Up and Preparation

• Dig All Old Plants Out of Garden and Add to Compost Pile
• Till the Garden Plot Thoroughly
• Add Several Inches of Compost and Till it into Soil

‘Finished’ vegetable plants may be tilled directly into the garden rather than adding to the compost pile. The problem with this is plants like tomatoes may be diseased and if tilled right into the soil, disease may live in soil through the winter which would be counter productive for the spring garden. Insects which are harmful to plants may also still be alive on these plants. Adding these plants to an active compost pile should not be a concern because the pile generates enough heat over time to kill diseases and insects on these plants. Diseased plants may also be destroyed by burning them, if permitted in your area.

Tilling the soil after removing plant debris helps to loosen any compacted areas. It allows soil to ‘breath’ and rainwater to pass through more easily. Spread 3-6 inches of compost across the garden and till it in to approximately 4 inches deep. Shredded leaves may also be added with compost. Leaves which have not been shredded will not have time to break down before planting in the spring.

These simple steps will prepare the garden for spring by aerating and providing nutrients to the soil. *More compost will have to be added during the growing season. When the tiller is brought out of the garden shed in spring, the soil will be much easier to work prior to planting.

There are a few more things to take care of before going inside to settle down in front of the fireplace for winter.

Clean and Store

• Garden Tools
• Tomato Cages
• Garden Stakes
• Garden Hoses
• Sprinklers

If the garden shed has already been cleaned and organized, cleaning and storing garden tools and supplies can be done in short-order.