How to Use Mulching to Protect Cold Tolerant Crops | Gardener's Path

Winter Mulching to Protect Cold Tolerant Crops

As the leaves begin to brighten and drop, chilly winds stab at the air, and we start yanking sweaters hats and scarves from the depths of our closets, the time has come to think about preparing our gardens for winter.

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Winter mulching is an important part of my winter prep routine each fall. While it may feel like a superfluous step, I find it extremely valuable both in the short and long term for protecting plants, prolonging harvests, and improving soil!

Winter mulching is simply covering garden beds with a thick layer of organic material. This helps perennials endure repeated freezes and thaws, extends the harvest season of some annual crops, and protects bare soil from harsh winter conditions.

While similar in some ways to the mulching that happens during the gardening season, winter mulching is done with the specific intention of protecting plants and soil from the harshness of winter and requires a more specific timing and care.

This process safeguards herbaceous and woody perennials from cycles of freezing and thawing, cold rain, and cold winds. In particular, it can enhance the cold tolerance of fragile young plants and ensure that perennials restart growth in spring with increased vigor.

It also protects the soil from compaction and erosion caused by heavy winter rain and snow, keeping soil nutrients from leaching away. It can even increase soil fertility when the material begins to decompose in spring.

This technique can even allow us to extend the harvest season of hardier annual vegetables that are able to survive