Winter might seem like a time to hang up your gardening gloves and retreat indoors with a cuppa, but don’t be fooled—your garden still needs you! While the cooler months can make your backyard sleepy, plenty is happening beneath the surface.
With some planning and tender loving care, you can keep your garden surviving and thriving through winter’s chill.
Here are five essential tips (plus a few bonus tricks) to help your garden stay healthy, vibrant, and ready to burst into life come spring.
1. Give your garden a winter clean-up
Think of winter as your garden’s annual health check. Start by clearing away spent plant material—dead plants, old veggies, and any debris that could harbour pests or diseases. This simple step helps prevent nasty surprises when the weather warms up.
Remember your garden’s support structures, like bean stakes, trellises, and tomato cages. These can be sneaky hiding spots for fungal spores and bacteria.
To keep things squeaky clean, scrub them with water and bleach (about 1 to 9 parts water).
And while you’re at it, tackle those weeds! Winter is the perfect time to get ahead of the game. Many weed seeds await warmth to spring into action, so pulling them now means less work (and fewer headaches) later.
2. Plant for the season
It doesn’t mean your garden has to be bare because it’s cold. Some veggies and flowers love the cooler weather. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, and Brussels sprouts all thrive in winter.
Root veggies like turnips, beets, radishes, rutabagas, and baby carrots are also excellent choices—they’ll happily grow underground while you stay warm inside.
If you’re after a splash of colour, try winter-hardy flowers such as pansies, snapdragons, or English daisies.
These cheerful blooms can brighten even the gloomiest winter day. Unless you’re in a frost-prone area, there’s no reason your garden can’t be productive and beautiful all winter.
3. Mulch, mulch, mulch!
Mulch is your garden’s best friend, especially in winter. It acts like a cosy blanket, helping to regulate soil temperature and keep roots moist. This is crucial when cold winds and fluctuating temperatures threaten to dry out or damage your plants.
Mulch also helps prevent soil erosion, protecting your garden from heavy rain and wind. You can buy mulch from your local nursery or make your own by composting annual plants and garden clippings.
While compost and mulch aren’t the same, both help lock in nutrients and improve soil health.
Pro tip: To prevent rot, lay mulch about 5–7cm thick, but keep it a few centimetres away from plant stems.
4. Test and tweak your soil
Healthy soil is the foundation of a thriving garden. Winter is a great time to check your soil’s pH and make necessary adjustments. For most veggies, aim for a pH between 6.3 and 6.9. You can pick up a simple pH test kit or electronic tester from your local garden centre.
If your soil is too alkaline (above 7), add sphagnum peat moss or elemental sulphur to bring it down. A sprinkle of garden lime can help raise the pH if it’s too acidic. Making these tweaks now gives your plants the best possible start when spring arrives.
5. Compost those leaves
Don’t let fallen leaves go to waste! They’re a treasure trove of nutrients for your garden. Rake them up and add them to your compost bin, or use them to make leaf mould—a fantastic soil conditioner.
Shredded leaves can also be used as mulch around your plants. By composting leaves and other garden debris, you’re tidying up and creating rich, organic matter that will feed your garden for months.
How do you keep your garden healthy during winter? Do you have any tried-and-true tips or favourite winter plants? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below—let’s help each other make our gardens the envy of the neighbourhood, all year round!
Also read: Ditch the rubbish bin: How eggshells could be your garden’s secret weapon
