Garden Jobs for Fall and Winter

As days shorten and temperatures cool, the pace of gardening slows along with plant growth. But there is still plenty to be done during the fall and winter months. In fact, much of what is done in the garden now will set the tone for the following year.

Cleaning up your garden is an important task. Remove any dead plant material from your garden and add it to your compost pile. Pick up any fallen fruit from around the fruit trees. These actions will eliminate habitats for overwintering diseases and pests. 

Clean up fallen leaves with rakes. Matted leaves left on the lawn can choke the lawn. Instead, add your leaves (chop up the largest ones) to your compost pile.

Pruning is done during the dormant period of deciduous trees and shrubs. However, it is worth doing a little research on each plant to become familiar with its pruning requirements. 

For example, pruning early bloomers such as azaleas, flowering quince or forsythia in the fall will remove flower buds and reduce the spring bloom display. If these plants need pruning, it should be done after they have finished flowering.

Pruning tools: hedge shears, hand pruners, loppers

Consider planting a winter garden. Radish, spinach, pea and onion seeds can be planted in October or November. Cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce and radish seedlings can be planted in November. If you don't want a winter garden, clean up your summer garden by mulching it with straw, grass clippings or chopped leaves. Mulch will discourage weeds and provide soil nutrients for next year's garden.

Planting bare-root trees and shrubs during the winter dormant period allows for a healthy root system to develop before spring germination. Fall is also the time to plant bulbs and perennials. Disguise your work by flooding the soil surface with water and then covering the soil with mulch.

Renovate flower beds by weeding, adding organic matter and tilling the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches. Refresh the existing mulch around planted plants.

Conduct an irrigation review to adjust your watering schedule to reflect the lower water needs of the fall and winter months. If you have an automated system, make sure it is working properly.
Watering accessories: garden hoses and nozzles, sprinklers, watering cans, sprayers

If you are planning to start a new garden bed, fall is a good time to do so before you face the rush of spring gardening. If you plan to start a new bed on an existing lawn, a good way to do it is to cover it with a thick layer of newspaper and put down a layer of mulch. This will kill the lawn and the bed will be ready for work in early spring without the effort of manually removing the turf.

Finally, clean and sharpen your tools. Keeping your tools clean helps prevent the spread of disease and prolongs the life of your tools. 

If you prune sick plants, disinfect your shears, loppers or saws with a dilute bleach solution, dry them off and apply a thin coat of oil. Sharp tools will produce a clean cut, and clean cuts heal faster. 

If you have empty pots that you plan to reuse, remove the dirt with a coarse brush and then rinse them well with water.

How To Trim Hedges - Guide To Pruning

Hedges are a very common and important ornamental feature in the garden. If properly cared for, they can be one of the most eye-catching landscapes in the garden. Hedge care - that is, pruning - then becomes a daily task for many gardeners.
Hedge pruning is the best maintenance to help keep them looking good over time. In this article, we'll give you some tips on how to trim your hedges, including the proper time to trim, the tools to use, and more.

How to Trim Hedges
Trimming hedges is very different from trimming trees. When pruning trees and shrubs
best practice is to follow the natural lines of the plants. Unlike hedges, which often need to be trimmed to a specific shape for better ornamentation. This is actually contrary to the natural growth pattern of the plant and therefore requires better planning and consistent pruning.

When To Trim Hedges
Generally, hedges are trimmed before the new growth blocks the sunlight. As the leaves below lose sunlight, they will begin to die back in favor of new growth.
Some evergreens grow quickly and need to be trimmed every four to six weeks during the growing season, while others may grow more slowly and only need to be trimmed once. The best way to determine how often to prune is to watch the growth and prune before it begins to shade out the foliage below.

How To Trim Hedges Easily With The Right Tools
Many people use electric trimmers to trim hedges, especially some large landscaping providers, and power tools offer greater efficiency. But for individual gardeners, hand tools are a better choice. They ensure a cleaner cut and cause less damage to branches.
Power tools tend to leave uneven wounds on plants, which are difficult for them to heal. Therefore hedge plants trimmed with power tools are more likely to get sick. In addition, hand tools are more environmentally friendly and quieter.

Prepare To Prune
Before trimming your hedge, clear your workspace. Remember, it's a good idea to wear safety goggles and garden gloves. Clean and sharpen your tools before pruning. If you are trimming multiple hedges, have a bucket of soapy water and a rag on hand to clean your tools between two hedges. Since pruning can cause disease in the wood, it is important to make sure your tools are kept clean.
Manual Hedging Tools
1. Hand Pruners
Hand pruners are small tools that are ideal for removing wilted, dead or diseased branches and leaves. Hand pruners cannot cut branches that are too thick, so they are often used for softer plants or to trim the edges of hedge forms.
2. Pruning Saw
The saw blade of the pruning saw is so sharp that it is capable of cutting off large branches of more than 3/4 inch. Therefore, hedge trimming with a pruning saw will be very easy.
3. Hedge Shears
The hedge shears are slightly larger in size and can trim a larger area. This makes them very easy to use, especially when trimming large hedges and hedges at right angles.
Start trimming at the bottom of the hedge and trim all the way up so that the top branches and leaves are free to fall to the ground. Place the blade at a right angle to the branch to get the cleanest cut possible. Make sure you don't twist the branches or approach them at odd angles, as they won't cut cleanly.
4. Grass Shears
After trimming the hedge, the grass shears are then used to clean up any small debris that has sprung up after the cut and to remove any protruding leafless branches. Grass shears are the ideal tool for finishing and they are great for enhancing the decorative look of the hedge.

Pruning is one of the most frequent tasks in the garden. With a detailed guide and the right tools, every gardener can easily do the job and get a perfect hedge shape.
Gardepot is dedicated to wholesale gardening tools and you can find a wide range of pruning tools as well as gardening guides on our website. Feel free to contact us with any questions or needs.