Cold Season Gardening Activities

As winter sets in, many of us may find ourselves missing the joys of gardening. American Master Gardener Scott Wilson, founder of the YouTube channel “Gardener Scott,” believes that planning your garden during winter is essential. “In the winter, your garden is laid bare. In fact, I like to think of it as being able to see the bare bones of your garden. […] I can walk through my garden, especially in areas that I haven’t cleaned up yet. […]”

Do you use a gardening journal? Many gardeners use their journals to reflect on previous experiences, which helps enhance their gardening space and refine their planting schedule each year. Instead of raking up fallen leaves and tossing them in bags for the landfill, shred them so they can then be mixed back into the soil or used as mulch to cover cold-hardy vegetables, such as kale, leeks, beets, and carrots. Besides “Leaving the Leaves,” you can also “Let Logs Lie.” Dead trees that do not pose safety hazards can support many wildlife-citizens, such as woodpecker-, owl-, skink-, and lizard-people, among others.

Winter is also the time to begin sowing seeds. “Winter sowing is the process by which we sow seeds outdoors in the winter, contained in little miniature greenhouses. This allows us to subject our seeds to cold treatment naturally, via Mother Nature.” Your houseplants always need some love and can even help to remove toxins and pollutants from your home. If you are dealing with winter mold, orchids, peace lilies, snake plants, palms, and Boston ferns can help to reduce moisture in the air.