Gardens can be a little depressing in the winter, especially when you live in the midwest! It is November now, and my one lush, green garden has turned brown and just looks sad. It’s ok, by taking a few steps this month, my garden will be lovely again next year!

1. This first task may surprise you, and it is a DON’T do… I DO NOT clean out my garden beds! I clean around the raised beds. My garden got just a little bit out of hand this year, and quickly took over the gravel pathways. So I remove anything that escaped the beds and put that into the compost. I’ll pull my solar lights, hoops, and garden decor, and I’ll cut down anything that is super tall. (This is when I will also grab the things that I let go to seed, such as marigolds, zinnias, and okra) Once that is done, I head to the compost pile and load up on the ready-to-use compost. I will distribute that evenly over the tops of the beds that won’t be in use over the winter. The compost feeds the soil, and the spent plants will decompose over the winter, leaving healthy soil for spring planting! I even leave the rotten tomatoes and cucumbers that were left at the end of the season. Two reasons for that. The first is that I love compost! The second is that I have noticed our snowbird picking at the leftovers. They may be eating the veggies, or they are picking off the bugs that are eating those veggies. Either way is a win!

*** If you had issues with garden pests such as borers then you should completely removed and destroy spent plants and consider treating with a safe pesticide.

2. Pull weeds from the walkways! I find that it is easier to pull weeds in the colder months. The weeds aren’t thriving in the chilly air, and the ground isn’t frozen yet. This is always a November chore for me.

3. Cleaning and sharpening tools! Most tools will be stored for the winter, so make sure to give everything a good cleaning and sharpening before you put them away for the season! There are a million things to do in the garden when Spring arrives, this shouldn’t need to be one of them. Start off the gardening season with clean, sharp tools. You’ll thank me next year!

4. Empty outdoor pots and store them inside! Remember that I mentioned the weather forecasts changing? Missouri weather, as anyone living here for a few years will know, is incredibly unpredictable. The forecast can change by the hour. I have seen it rain over an inch in one day, only to freeze solid that night. Do you know what happens to water when it freezes? Expansion. And if that water is filling your favorite ceramic flower pot? It absolutely runs the risk of cracking. It is better to empty them and bring them inside. I will empty dirt into my raised beds, but my mom has a giant metal trash can in her garage that she uses for dirt. It’s pretty awesome!

5. ORDER SEEDS! I plan my garden and order my seeds at the end of the year. Lots of places run great sales on seeds, so you can usually find a deal. I save a lot of seeds myself, but I do order a nice variety as well. My two favorite places to order are Seed Savers Exchange and MI Gardener. I like to sit down, plan out what/where I want to grow, check my seed inventory, then place the order of what I want. I keep my seeds organized in two of these photo storage cases. It is very convenient!

Those are my November/sometimes December garden chores! What do you do to put your garden to sleep for the winter?