Cleaning up the Garden: an End-of-Season Checklist

This weekend was my last visit to our two vegetable gardens until March.

This is the first time in a long time that I can remember being so definitive in closing up the garden. There’s no “Oh, I’ll be back to get these last few bits of parsley,” or “I can come back and clean up that last pile in a couple of days.”

Nope, not this year. I’m being realistic with the weather, the season, and my time.

A few years ago, I harvested fresh zucchini on November 18. This year, a week of near or below freezing weather set in instead. Considering my upcoming travel for the holidays, the possibility of snow, and the last yard waste pickup of the fall season, I decided to cut it clean, harvest everything worth harvesting, and hang up my garden gloves for the year.

Here are a few things I’ve made sure to do.

Clean up the composters

The composters are cleaned up—no more “black gold” that has been developing in them undisturbed for the last six months. Buckets of the stuff have been distributed between the two gardens and worked into the soil, so it’s ready to go for next season.

Clean up the random piles of debris sitting in the gardens

I have thought that letting compostables sit and decompose during the freezes and thaws of winter would prepare them well enough for working into the soil the next spring. I’ve done it now for many years and realize I’m just making work for myself come spring. All loose plant material too large to put in my composter has been bagged up and is awaiting the recycling crew.

Harvest everything that’s harvestable

Beets, Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks, radishes, and a smattering of herbs. The cold temps actually give the sprouts and kale a sweetness that it otherwise doesn’t have. Maybe the beets, too. I’ll see soon, as I’m intending to make beet ketchup with it.

Wash garden gloves and towels

My hand clippers also await a cleaning and oil application before being put away for the winter. And this week when I have a moment I will go through all my old seed packets and my garden bags, saving and ditching out-of-date items and doing a general cleaning out.

Strip the kale plants of all their leaves, but leave the stalks standing

Why? I’m hoping when I step foot in the garden in March I may have some growth happening. Maybe not. But it’s an experiment.

Plant one last row of spinach

Like the kale, I’m hoping Mother Nature will be kind and give us a few spurts of warmth that will get the seeds going. That would be a delightful way to begin the next gardening season.