Garden Tips: Prepare for spring gardening by doing small chores now

Two weeks ago, I talked about the fall garden chores that should be done once fall arrives and cool weather starts to prevail. Here are some tasks that are good to do but are not absolutely necessary:

▪ Clean the vegetable garden: It is a good practice to clean the garden by removing plants that are finished producing or killed by frost. Plants without any obvious disease problems may be chopped and composted. However, if the plants were diseased, do not compost them. Once the plants are removed, add organic matter to the soil by tilling in finished compost or chopped up leaves.

▪ Pruning back roses? If you originally come from a colder area of the country like I do, you are probably familiar with the process of severely cutting back roses in the fall and covering the bushes with soil or a loose mulch to protect from the cold. Because winter temperatures here are usually not bitter, severe fall pruning is not needed and can actually make the plants more vulnerable to damage. However, after several hard frosts, it is good to prune tall rose shrubs to a height of about 3 feet to keep them from blowing in gusty fall and winter winds, and possibly uprooting the plants.

▪ Clean flower planters: Spring is busy, so the more cleanup you do now, the further you will be ahead next season. Take advantage of mild days to tidy flower container gardens. Remove plants, roots and all, by pulling or digging. Use a garden knife or a sharp trowel to dig and break up root masses and clumps of potting mix. (If you grew ornamental sweet potatoes, you may find a sizable tuber, or sweet potato, as part of the roots. These are edible, but are most likely not very tasty.)

▪ Garden tools: If you put tools away clean and in good condition, they will be ready next spring. Use a wire brush to clean soil off digging tools, and then use a flat mill file to sharpen blades, if needed. Do this by filing away from you using long strokes. If you have not done this before, you can probably find a how-to video online. For tools with wooden handles, rub the wood with boiled linseed oil. This helps prevent the wood from drying and cracking. If the handle is rough, sand it before applying the oil.

▪ Yard art: If you have any pottery or concrete bird baths, take time to clean them off and store them. If you leave them out in the yard, any water in them may freeze, causing cracks and chips. I winterize my bird bath by scrubbing out the bowl, wiping it off and placing it under the eaves (no room in the garage) with the basin upside down so it will not collect leaves, snow or rain.

If you have a bird bath or fountain that is too heavy to move, drain it, fill the bowl with burlap or blankets to absorb condensation, and then cover it with heavy plastic sheeting to prevent it from filling with moisture. Secure the plastic well to avoid problems with wind. If removable, take fountain pumps indoors for the winter. Also, clean off other types of garden art, like gazing balls and wind chimes, and store them.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Garden Tips: Prepare for spring gardening by doing small chores now."