Preparing SFGs for Winter???

Hello from Minnesota. Any ideas for preparing a SFG for winter?

Jeri Blom wrote:Hello from Minnesota. Any ideas for preparing a SFG for winter?

No exceptional ideas, just wanted to say HI from NE SD! Fall is my busiest time at work and every year I think I will get a chance to clean up my garden for winter but I am so pooped on the weekends it never happens. I always end up waiting until the snow melts enough in spring that I can pull out the fall mess, then prep for starting my spring crops. Maybe this year will be different!?!

In theory, what I want to do for my SFG's is pull out the plants, scoop up some of my good homemade compost, mix it in, then put all my dead plants into what is left of the compost pile and let it sit for the winter. I have 2 compost piles, one that should be ready to raid, then when I put this year's plants into it, I will turn the newest pile on to that one and let it all sit and stew for the winter.

Here's hoping!

GG

I like to pull all the plants and cover mine with raked leaves.

Drain the rain barrell. Remove the drip irrigation.

I would cover mine if I wanted to keep weed seeds and rubbish from blowing in through winter. But, there really is no requirement to do a thing. It's all personal preference.

I do like to cover mine with leaf mulch, but I have a ton of that to use since I'm a landscaper/lawn guy by trade.

It helps to know what others do. We have lots of leaves so think I'll cover the beds with them. After I clean it out;)

I would highly recommend mulching them up as finely as you can. They break down super quick (in decomposotion terms) and if they happen to get mixed in...oh well. They are a great addition.

I did it! I got the garden relatively cleaned out! I got my second compost pile turned onto my first one, one that is supported by straw bales all around, got the sunflower stalks pulled out of the herb bed, and got the everlasting tree/shrub sprayed with extra-strength Round-Up! Hopefully this thing will finally DIE and I can have my raised brick bed back and get the top of it filled with MM for next spring.
Now, if the weather holds out, next weekend before snow flies I will run the lawn mower (set up as high as it will go) across the lawn and my irises to suck up the leaves and chop them into the bag. If all goes well, I will top my boxes with the chopped leaves and they will be ready to sit for the winter. Then, all I have to do is measure my herb box so that this winter I can play with the dimensions for turning it into an SFG next spring. I might even build a cold-frame or two!
GG

PS - while cleaning out the garden, I found 2 carrots and 2 onions that had not been pulled!