Good reasons not to trim your garden this fall
At this time of year, your social media feed is probably filled with articles showing you how to shut down your garden for the winter. By now, I'm sure you and the garden are ready for a much-needed rest. But is it really necessary to clean everything every fall? When that first frost hits, our gardens go from lush greenery to a wasteland of dead and rotting plants. For most of us, this triggers the need to clean it immediately. We go there with garden loppers, a rake, and a wheelbarrow ready to remove the first snowflake before it falls.
And at the end of the day, find a leaf or branch. It's all in the curb or compost pile. Unfortunately, our desire for order and neatness is causing great harm to our garden, local wildlife, and ourselves. Have a cup of tea and read this. By the time you take your last sip, I hope I've convinced you to relax this fall and let your garden do its own thing.
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1. Rebuild soil biology
As you may have noticed, we're big fans of no-dig gardening here at people garden For years, we've encouraged gardeners everywhere to leave the rototiller and spade in the shed. In every garden, beneath the soil, there is a microcosm of beneficial fungi and microbes that plants depend on to thrive.
Or at least, should be.
However, annual plowing and pulling of vegetation destroys that fragile ecosystem, and it can take a decade or more for it to regrow. Instead of ripping up everything you've grown this year, leave it where it will decompose naturally while adding nutrients back into the soil. By leaving plants to rot, you encourage the continued growth of healthy, thriving soil biology. This, in turn, provides your garden with larger root systems, drought-resistant plants, and easily accessible nutrients. Also growing healthy fungi will increase yields and prevent some insect attacks.
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2. Provide winter habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects
Have you noticed that hand pollination is increasing every year? Do you find countless unpollinated fruits on your plants every season and wonder what you can do about it? Watch Fall for your answer. If you trim and trim your garden at the end of the growing season each year, you're effectively encouraging pollinators to winter elsewhere.
Countless native bees spend their winter with us, and so do their eggs. There are nearly 4,000 different species of native bees in North America, all of which are rapidly disappearing. When you clean up your garden every fall, you're depriving them of the natural habitat they need to roost and lay their eggs. Sure, you can build a beehive, but most people don't take the time to keep them clean. In the end, what was thought to be beneficial ends up being a bee death trap. Not to mention they are very small. It's so easy to stand back and let nature take care of itself. Your garden and yard are full of leaves and tomato plants that are resting and are the perfect habitats for pollinators to make their homes and hitch a ride in the winter.
Pollinators aren't the only insects that benefit from all the dead plants in your garden.
We are all familiar with the migratory patterns of the Monarch butterfly, but countless other species spend the winter sheltering under dead leaves, thin hollow stems of plants, or bark. Other beneficial insects that help control pest populations in your gardens, such as ladybugs and lacewings, make their homes among the detritus in your yard and garden each winter. When you think about it, one of the best things you can do to improve your pollination rate and control insects next spring is to do nothing this fall.
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3. Provide food for wild birds
When the snow falls and the hustle and bustle of tending a garden turn into the hustle and bustle of the holidays, many of us put out bird feeders. There's nothing quite like watching a cardinal glow against a blanket of fresh snow while sipping a hot cup of cocoa. While there are some great ways to attract birds to your backyard, one of the easiest ways to bring them into your space is to make sure they have a food source.
An excellent food source for wild birds is a garden at leisure. Remember all those bugs in the winter? They are an excellent source of much-needed protein for birds. By cleaning up your garden every fall, you're not only preventing pollinators, but you're also taking away an important food source for your local wild bird population.
Birds don't just eat insects in your garden.
If you leave your garden alone, all those dead plants can become a veritable buffet of seeds and berries. Leaving your garden for the birds each fall can provide them with food and enjoy watching these happy creatures hop from branch to branch. It's amazing how interconnected we all are when we stop to look closely.
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4. Add a natural layer of mulch
Every year it's the same, "You need to mulch your garden!" We've covered all the benefits of mulching your garden every year. It is an integral part of no-dig gardening. You have plenty of options, and some mulch can be found in your yard. But what if the plants in your garden become mulch? How much easier would it be to mulch if you let the material break down where it stands every fall? We've already established that letting your garden rot over the winter helps the soil retain and return nutrients. You can leave most of it as it is, or chop some of it up and let it become a layer of natural compost where it lands.
In the spring, when the insects wake up from hibernation, you can easily cut the remaining plants, where they will continue to break down where they land, slowly improving the soil over time.
5. It's easy for you
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I have my favorite reason for not tidying up the garden. Pfft, you should be doing better things with your time. It's funny how our attitudes can change in a matter of months. In spring, we can't wait for those first tomatoes; Then, in the fall, we die looking at them.
Fall is often when gardeners need a break.
We are ready to rest and take a break from the labor of love of tending the garden. So why add more spinal labor to your list of chores if you don't have to? You have hot jasmine juice to drink, fire pits to sit around, books to read, and ceremonies to attend. Let nature do its thing; She's got this. You go and put your feet up.
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When should the garden be cleaned?
It's true that sometimes it may be necessary to clean up at least part of your garden - the main reason is to prevent disease. If plants are sick this year, especially if they have fungal problems, it's important to dispose of them properly. Do not fertilize diseased plants or you may see the problem again in the future. The best way to deal with diseased plants is to burn them. Blight, in particular, can be a problem that spreads from district to district every season, so it's important to do everything we can to control it. Burn infected plants as soon as blight is detected.
In the end, it's easy, so why work more if you don't have to? The more hands we give to our gardens, the more nature will favor healthy plants and soil.
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