Knowledge
Answers to the parts of gardening that are actually hard. Written by a Swedish garden app and tested where winters are long and the ground freezes solid, so the timing goes by what your own garden is doing, the first frost or frozen ground, rather than by dates that only fit one country.
Does compost work in winter?
Composting stops below about 10 to 12 °C. An insulated bin keeps going if you keep filling it, and a frozen one you simply keep filling as usual.
Is it too late to plant trees, shrubs and hedges?
Bare-root hedging and deciduous trees can go in until the ground freezes. Evergreens and anything borderline hardy where you live wait for spring.
When should you start feeding birds in winter?
Start when the cold comes and natural food runs out, and carry on until spring. Sunflower hearts and fat, no nets round fat balls, and a clean feeder.
Which plants survive in a winter pot outdoors?
Bud-flowering heather, skimmia, ivy and evergreen cuttings last all winter in a pot. Cape heath dies at the first hard frost. How to plant the pot.
Which vegetables can stay in the ground over winter?
Kale, leeks, parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes stand all winter. Where the ground freezes, lift carrots and beetroot. How to harvest from frozen soil.
Autumn garden jobs: what has to be done before the frost
Autumn garden jobs sorted by deadline. What has to go in the ground before the frost, what can wait for spring and which autumn chores to skip.
How do you protect young trees over winter?
Voles under the snow kill more young fruit trees than the cold. How to protect the trunk from gnawing, sunscald and snow, and when the guard goes on.
How often should you water newly planted trees and shrubs?
Deeply and rarely, not a little and often. How much water a new tree needs, how to tell when it has had enough and why you keep going for three seasons.
Is it too late to plant tulips?
Tulips can go in until the ground freezes, in a mild climate well into December. If the frost beat you, plant them in a pot until the new year.
Leaf mould: how to turn autumn leaves into soil
Pile the leaves in a wire cage or a bag with holes, keep them damp and wait. Which leaves rot fast, which to keep out, and why cold winters add a year.
Overwintering plants: what comes in, what stays out and how do you do it?
Geraniums, olive, citrus, fuchsia and the pots on the patio. How much cold each plant takes, where it should winter and why it usually dies of water.
Should you rake leaves off the lawn?
Yes, off the lawn but not off the borders. Wet leaves over winter mean yellow patches and snow mould. How often to rake, and when the last time is.
When should you hill up roses, and how?
Hill up roses once the leaves have fallen and the soil freezes in the mornings. A 20 cm mound over the graft, never of peat, and off again in spring.
When should you plant bulbs?
Daffodils first, tulips last, and the deadline is frozen ground. Last planting dates by climate, plus depth and spacing for 22 spring bulbs.
When should you plant garlic?
Plant garlic when the soil cools to about 8 °C: September where winters are long, into December where they are mild. Point up, 5 cm of soil over it.
Why do you get moss in the lawn, and how do you get rid of it?
Moss is the receipt for grass that gave up. The four causes, why lime is rarely the answer and what to do instead, with amounts and timing.