It’s the perfect time for garden cleanup

They mean that your garden has finished production for the year, but it also means that the weather is good enough to finish those final ones.

Autumn is the ideal time to clean the garden and its tools to prepare for next year.

There are a few tasks to complete before you put away your gardening tools for the winter. Before cleaning the garden, make notes about the year. Record the layout of the garden, the cultivars that have worked (or not) and any pests or diseases that you have encountered in the past year.

This will help you next spring when it’s time to plan the garden and it will help you remember which vegetables were in which place for your crop rotation schedule.

A crop rotation plan is where vegetables from the same plant family are rotated to different locations in the garden. The objective is to avoid putting families of plants in a particular place for three years to avoid problems of diseases and insects.

Two of the most common plant families in the garden include Solanaceous crops and Cucurbit crops. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and Irish potatoes are all in the Solanaceae family. Crops of the Cucurbitaceae family include squash, pumpkins, zucchini, melons and cucumbers. Try to avoid placing those crops in the same plant family in a specific place in the garden for at least three years, if possible.

The actual cleaning of the garden is the next step. Removing garden debris such as dead plant material, plant “mummies,” weeds, and rotting vegetables can help reduce disease, weed, and insect problems the following year.

Remove and dispose of diseased or insect-infested plant material, but do not compost unless you are an experienced composter. Most compost piles do not reach a high enough temperature to kill all pathogens, such as fungal spores and bacteria. Discarding or burning infected plant material will eliminate pathogens that could infect next year’s crops. Removing weeds with mature seed heads will not only improve the appearance of the garden, but also help remove the seed source for potential weeds in next year’s garden.

The addition of organic matter can help improve the composition of the soil. Incorporating the remains of healthy plants can be a great source of organic matter, which can improve the structure of the soil. These healthy plants can be turned or stuck in the ground or thrown into the compost pile. Organic mulches that have been used in the garden, such as straw, grass clippings, or even newspapers, can also be left on the ground.

Tree leaves are another great source of organic matter for the garden. The leaves that are collected with the mower will break down more quickly once they are worked into the soil because they are cut into smaller pieces.

Cages and trellises also need a cleaning in the fall. Support structures, such as tomato cages or trellises, must be pulled out of the ground, cleaned and placed in storage for the winter. If you have had disease problems in the past, like the guy, it is also an excellent time to disinfect the cages or trellises to prevent infecting the new tomatoes next year. A solution of 10% bleach, alcohol wipes, rubbing alcohol, or even ready-to-use bleach can be used to disinfect the cages before winter storage.

Now is also the perfect time for some end-of-year tool maintenance. The digging tools, such as shovels, hoes, pitchforks and garden rakes, must be removed from them the excess soil. Any rust that is present can be removed with a wire brush and some elbow grease or an electric drill with a wire brush or sandblasting attachment.

After the rust is removed, renew or sharpen the edges and points with a mill file or a grinding wheel. For winter storage, apply a light coating of oil. Tools can also be stored in a 5 gallon bucket filled with sand and oil.

Inspect your tool handles at the end of the season for cracks or splinters. Replace handles if necessary. If the wooden handles are in good condition, they can be cleaned and oiled at least once a year. Use fine sandpaper to smooth the surface. Remove any dust and rub linseed oil into the handle and let it soak. Keep applying until the oil no longer absorbs. Wait half an hour, then dry the oil that remains on the surface.

With a little effort and maintenance now, the garden and its tools will be in tip-top shape for next year’s gardening season.