This is a good time to get your garden in order. Here are a few tips that can save you money in the long run:
1. Keep your garden tools clean and sharp. Some plant diseases can be spread on tools. Hose soil off of garden tools before moving to another area of the landscape. Sterilize pruning tools after each and every cut if there is any chance the plant is infected with a disease. A dull saw is much more dangerous than sharp one. When the saw is sharp, gentle pressure is all it takes to make a clean cut. If it is dull, force is required and serious injury can occur if it slips. Sharp tools make for clean wounds which heal quickly. Take care of your tools, they will last longer and so will you and your plants.
2. If you live in colder climate and will let your garden beds go fallow, mulch over the top of them with a quality product. A layer of fall leaves is not only an eco friendly thing to do (no bagging them and throwing them away!), but the leaves will breakdown over time and provide much needed nutrients back into the soil.
3. Remove any diseased plant, but leave the rest to be tilled back into the soil next spring when you start your beds again.
4. Begin planning for next year!! Start looking in seed catalogs, go to the nurseries looking for sales on garden gear - and of course start looking in second hand shops for thing you can reuse in your garden next year!
Happy Digging,
Doreen aka the Garden Goddess
For more great gardening resource visit my website at www.down2earthgarden.com
