Looking to winterize your garden? This winter may seem nonexistent, but it is coming and here are some tips to prepare for the coming frost.

Tidy Up

Remove any dead leaves and debris from your garden. Pull out any weeds or other unwanted plants. Take special care to place invasive plants — especially the seed heads — in a covered garbage container, not your compost pile.

Compost

After tidying up the garden add about three to four inches of compost to the beds. Nutrients from the mulch will leach into the beds during winter rains. The remnants of the compost can be turned into the soil in the spring.

Shrub Care

Tender shrubs can be wrapped in burlap or agricultural fabric when hard or prolonged freezes are forecast. Remove the fabric when temperatures warm up to prevent overheating the plant. So far this shouldn’t be necessary. Be careful using plastic because it doesn’t breathe and can overheat your shrubs.

Water features.

Don’t allow the pump to freeze. Check with garden pond maintenance experts in your area about whether your pump will move water all winter or whether it and the plants in the pond should be removed and stored until winter.

For some plants…just let it grow!

Fresh veggies. Even during snows and freezes, gardeners in many parts of the country can continue to grow and harvest cool-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, beets, and other vegetables by creating a cold frame from inexpensive wire hoops and agricultural cloth.