In her second part of her series on winter gardening, Cathy Isom tells you things you can do right now to prepare your garden for winter planting. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Preparing Your Garden for Winter Planting
August is the best time to get your garden ready for winter planting. But first you’ll want to consider a little prep work before the seeds go in the ground. Firstly, preparing for colder weather. If a greenhouse isn’t available, container gardens, hooped rows, and cold frames all work very well. Cold frames and hoop houses can be built right over existing beds, but they should 
not be put in place until frigid weather poses a threat. Another thing to do to prepare for your winter harvest is to make sure to prep the soil so that it doesn’t freeze on your winter crops.
Use a thick later of mulch, such as shredded leaves, pine needles, straw or hay, will insulate the ground. Mulch protection around the edges of the bed is a good for producing a little heat while decomposing. And, the soil will remain moist, making watering almost a non-issue.
If it gets really cold where you live, it might help to add some stones in between plants. They are thermal masses that will collect heat from the sun during the day and release it at night.
I’m Cathy Isom…