Cleaning up the garden in Autumn
If you are anything like me, sometimes the end-of-summer madness leaves you feeling a little garden burnout. After weeks of drowning in tomato preserving, the last place you want to be is that wild, unkempt and overgrown garden of yours. Sometimes I can’t even bring myself to head back out there until the dahlias begin to fade and the last flush of roses drop their petals. Cleaning up the garden in Autumn feels entirely beyond my capacity.
But inevitably, once that first frost hits, I find myself going, “Oh no! It’s time! Autumn is almost over and I haven’t tended to my garden! Do I need to clean everything out? Pull all the weeds? Remove all the dead leaves, stalks and branches?”
In the early days, I used to really go for it. I’d get in there and leave things neat and tidy. I would perfectly prep the garden for the season to come. Each bed perfectly emptied of crispy bean stalks, dried up squash vines and mushy green tomatoes. And…then I’d find myself doing another major clean up in the Spring.
Over the years, I’ve learned that cleaning up the garden in Autumn might NOT be the best idea.
Why you won’t find me cleaning up the garden in Autumn:
- Mother Nature has a way of covering the soil. Especially when it comes to in-ground gardening, cleaning up and clearing out your beds may leave the perfect breeding ground for weeds over the winter. Here in Oregon, our ground doesn’t freeze and while growth certainly slows over Winter, it doesn’t entirely stop. A perfectly cleared out bed is just asking for trouble.
- Some plants are Nitrogen (or other nutrient) fixers. Some plants- like peas and beans in particular- leave a healthy dose of what your garden soil needs for next year. Leave them be!
- Do it for the birds and the bees! Leftovers from your bountiful summer garden provide much needed food and habitat for overwintering insects. Including important pollinators such as the beloved honeybee and beautiful butterfly. Birds, who subsist almost entirely on seeds and insects will also greatly benefit from all your scraggly leftovers in the leaner months.
- Do it for your soul! Like I mentioned earlier, by the end of summer I’m usually pretty burned out. There are seasons of gardening, just like there are seasons in life. A time to work like crazy, and a time to rest. Excuse yourself from a massive Autumn cleanup, and refresh your soul for next year’s efforts.
So, instead of pulling out your trusty mud boots, grabbing your favorite pair of pruning shears and cleaning out the garden in Autumn. Sit back and relax instead! Make a nice big cup of tea (my favorite), grab a big stack of gardening books, and settle in for the magical season that is Autumn in the Garden.
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