Community Gardens Closing Day
Gardeners in the Northside Community Garden clear and mulch their plots in preparation for winter.
With the end of the season comes chilly mornings, orange leaves, and big harvests! The end of the community garden season is marked by Closing Day - October 25th. All community gardeners are required to winterize their garden plot by this date, following the steps below. Gardeners who don’t winterize their plots will not be eligible to return next year, and will not receive their deposit back. If you are a community gardener and unable to meet this deadline, please let us know ahead of time! You can call the office at 523-3663 or email your community garden staff. Thank you for another great season, and for helping us take care of the gardens for next year!
Steps to winterize your garden:
1. Remove all non-perennial and non-producing plants, weeds, and debris.
Place weeds in the weed pile. Place stalky materials (corn, sunflower, broccoli, kale, and other brassicas) in the stalk pile or weed pile if no stalk pile is available. All other plant material (including leaves torn off stalks) can be placed in the garden’s compost pile. Organic material can also be chopped/broken up and mixed into your garden plot to help build your soil.
2. Take down all trellising, tomato cages, and miscellaneous items in your plot.
Please take down trellising and remove all trash, debris, plastic containers, etc. Trellising and tomato cages should be stored in your garden’s designated trellising boneyard or in your plot in a tidy fashion, folks!
3. Weed and mulch any perennials or late-season crops in your plot.
You may leave late-season crops (e.g. kale, carrots, garlic) in your plot as long as they are still producing. Leave perennial plants including dead flower stems intact over the winter for pollinator habitat. Garden City Harvest provides enough straw each season for gardeners to use a ½ bale per plot to mulch perennials such as strawberries and raspberries and overwintering crops such as garlic, parsnips, or carrots.
**Mulching improves soil moisture retention, regulates soil temperature, and helps build healthy soil. If you need more than a ½ bale of straw, we ask that you wait until after Closing Day to take it or supplement with your own straw or leaves. Additional straw can be found at Ace, Murdoch’s, Mountain West Co-op, and local nurseries. Ask your neighbors for leaves from their yards. Try to water mulch down so it doesn’t blow away. Do NOT mulch with cardboard – it leaves a mess.**
4. Weed the paths around your garden plot (and mulch, where applicable).
All weeds must be pulled from the pathways around your plot and placed in the weed pile. At sites where wood chips are provided, weed your perimeter pathways and cover with a 2-3 inch layer of wood chips.
5. Complete the Community Gardens End-of-Season Survey! This should only take about 5 -10 minutes, and this year, we’re offering prizes for 4 people who fill out the survey - two insulated mugs, a growler, and a tote bag. We are so grateful for your time on this! The information that you provide helps us improve the program and secure grant-funding.
Thank you for another wonderful season of growing. We’ll see you next year!