WINTER GARDEN CHORES

University of California Cooperative Extension/ El Dorado Master Gardener

By Eve Keener

Publication Date: November 26, 2004

Just because the weather has broken and it’s cold and wet outside, that doesn’t mean your work in the garden is done until spring. There are some chores which can only be done in the winter, and there are some newer ideas about what might not need to be done.

If you have fruit trees, you will need to prune for fruit production and tree health this winter. If you don’t know how to prune your trees, come to the Master Gardener fruit tree pruning demonstration on January 15, 2005. At this class, you will also hear about summer pruning, which is a newer concept. Current research shows that many kinds of fruit trees can benefit from significant pruning during the growing season.

In addition to pruning, clean up all leaves and mummies (shriveled fruit) from both the trees and the ground around them. This is essential to eliminate possible transmission of disease from last year’s crop back into your trees. Also, if you had peach leaf curl last year, now is the time to begin your spray program to insure healthy trees next year. Traditionally, peaches are sprayed three times during the dormant season and Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines Day are excellent days for this chore. Spray with a wettable powder copper which has at least 50% copper, and include dormant spray oil in the same mixture to get a start on any insects that may be over-wintering under the bark or on the soil around the tree. Read instructions and follow directions carefully.

If you use watering basins around trees and shrubs, break the walls down now so that winter rains do not puddle around trunks and cause disease problems. You can rebuild the basins in late spring.

You can prune summer blooming shrubs, if needed, during the dormant season. If you want prize winning roses next year, bushes should be dormant-pruned in late winter, ideally about six weeks before your last expect frost date. There will be a rose selection and care class on January 18, 2005 if you need help. Using the same copper/oil spray for your roses as you used on peach trees will give you a start on controlling next year’s insect and disease problems. Again, cleanup of all leaves, pruned stems and blossoms is important; these items should not be added to your compost pile.

Do not prune your spring blooming shrubs until bloom or after bloom next spring. Pruning now will remove next spring’s bloom.

Clean up your summer veggie garden, adding the dead plants to the compost pile. If you don’t get to this chore you will have seedling tomatoes and zucchini all over the place next spring. If you have composted, or even uncomposted horse manure, top empty vegetable beds with 2-3” now and let it compost on the beds over winter, which will help keep the soil from being compacted by winter rains. Next spring just till or dig in the manure and you will be ready for planting. Cut down the dead fronds from asparagus plants and top the bed with 2-3” compost to keep the crowns covered. Next spring your new spears will come up through the compost.

If you have uncovered compost piles, cover them with a tarp for the winter to keep in the nutrients and help keep the pile warm enough to compost.

Clean up fall sprouting weeds, which should be well up by now – don’t let those little suckers go to seed! If you have a winter garden, keep it weed free, particularly onions, which do not compete well with weeds.

Rake leaves from lawns or, even better, if you have a mulching mower with a bag, mow the leaves and dump them on your flower beds as mulch, or put the clippings on the compost pile. If you have lots of leaves and need an idea for a Christmas present, there is a blower/vac on the market which, in the vacuum mode, vacuums up leaves and shreds them into a bag, which you can then unzip and dump on beds, or in the compost pile. I am using my neighbor’s and I just love it to clean up the leaves of a huge liquidamber. Move leaves from the top of herbaceous perennials so that the crowns don’t rot under the packed down, wet leaves, but otherwise, don’t remove leaves from the flower beds; they will compost over the winter and enrich your soil.

In the old days we were told to remove the top growth from herbaceous perennials once they died down, but now the advice is to leave the dead top growth on over the winter to protect the crowns and remove early in spring just before you expect new growth to start - so this is one chore you can skip for now. In any case, don’t cut down ornamental grasses until early spring; they look wonderful in the winter and the birds will enjoy the seed pods. Remove dead summer annuals and add to the compost pile.

Last of all, sew sweet pea seeds now for bloom before the weather gets too hot. Remember to provide trellis for vining types or plant knee high varieties which need no support. Also, get any remaining spring bulbs, except tulips, into the ground while it is still easy to work. If you live in the lower elevations (Camino and lower) don’t plant tulips until December and keep them in a refrigerator until then to simulate winter chill. Don’t put them near ripening fruit; the ethylene they give off will rot the bulbs.

These chores will keep you busy when weather is good enough to get outside. When it’s just too wet, stay by the fire and dream over all the seed and plant catalogs that soon will be filling your mail box.