Checklist: 6 things you can do to get your garden ready for winter

Leimone Waite
Master gardeners

Q: What should I be doing now in my garden and landscape to get ready for winter and control disease problems for next year?

 A: Now that we are starting to see the leaves turn colors and the weather is a bit cooler, it’s time to start fall cleanup and get your yard and garden ready for winter.

Organic mulches such as leaves, straw and grass clippings keep weeds under control and improve soil as they break down.

1. Make mulch of leaves

As leaves fall, rake or blow them into windrows and run your mower over them to chop them up into smaller pieces. Then use them as mulch around beds, or add to your compost pile, or add them to the green waste so that the city can compost.

Please do not burn them. Not only does this cause poor air quality in my neighborhood, it robs your soil of all the added benefits that decomposing leaves provide.

Rake leaves and add them to your compost pile or locate them near the garden so they are handy to add as mulch next spring and summer.

2. Fertilize fruit trees

Now is the time to fertilize fruit trees and spring-blooming plants with a fruit and flower type of fertilizer. These are low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus and potassium.

If you have not already adjusted your irrigation controller for the fall season, now is the time to cut back on watering by 40%. As soon as the rains come you can drain drip irrigation lines, wrap hose bibs and winterize your irrigation system so that you don’t have freeze damage.

3. Fend off frost damage

During winter months, hopefully irrigation can remain shut off for a while, but many times we will have a long dry spell in January when you may need to water again.

Plan for some type of frost protection for cold sensitive plants like citrus trees or fall garden crops like lettuce or cabbage. Frost protection could include hoops that you can quickly cover with frost cloth or an old blanket that can be wrapped around a plant before a cold snap. Avoid plastic or thin sheets as they don’t provide enough insulation against cold.

This aloe plant was frostbitten so badly it might not make it.

4. Plant for the future

Fall is a great time to plant deciduous trees, California native plants, shrubs and vines. It’s also a good time to dig up and transplant perennials, small evergreen trees and shrubs. Select species and cultivars well-adapted to the local site. Avoid planting frost-sensitive subtropical evergreen plants such as citrus.

5. Prep for rain

Prepare for rainfall by mulching bare soil. Check drainage to prevent water ponding around tree trunks and your home foundation. Consider installing downspout diverters to direct runoff into landscape soils, but make sure this does not cause flooding or waterlogging of soil.

6. Dormant spray some fruit trees

If you have peach, apricot or nectarine trees, once they have lost their leaves you can dormant spray with a copper spray for the first time to prevent peach leaf curl and shot hole disease. Dormant spray twice more around New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

Master Gardeners

For more information on landscape practices that promote a sustainable and pest-free landscape check out the seasonal checklists by county and month on the University of California Integrated Pest Management website at https://bit.ly/2Tyn6jG.

The Shasta Master Gardeners Program can be reached by phone at 242-2219 or email mastergardener@shastacollege.edu. The gardener office is staffed by volunteers trained by the University of California to answer gardeners' questions using information based on scientific research.