When Should I Cleanup My Garden?
Is spring or fall cleanup better?
Rustic Roots Backyard is reader-supported. When you buy through links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You can read my full disclaimer here. Thanks for your support!
The arrival of fall means your garden will soon transform from a colorful oasis into brown and decaying plant matter. So the question is, do you clean up the garden before or after winter? I’ll outline your options so you can make an informed decision for your garden.
Many people will argue that spring is the best time to clean up your garden. However, before I jump into spring clean up, let’s discuss why you may want to clean up your garden in the fall.
Vegetable gardens, in my opinion, need a good cleanup before the snow falls. Removing dead and possibly diseased foliage will help you get a jump start on a healthy vegetable garden in spring. If any of your vegetable garden plants have shown signs of disease throughout the season, they need to go. Letting diseased plant matter sit over winter gives the disease the opportunity to settle into the soil. This will cause it to spread when you till it up next season. If you have diseased plant matter, keep it separate from your compost pile. Otherwise you’ll transfer the disease to the compost you put on healthy plants next year.
The same principle applies to flower beds. If you had flowers that had disease or fungal growth, like powdery mildew, clean these up and do not let them sit in the ground over winter. Clearing your gardens in the fall will lessen the workload to get them ready next season in spring.
Why you should wait until Spring for garden cleanup.
First, and most importantly, many pollinators rely on garden debris to make their home for hibernation over winter. Many pollinators bury themselves under the garden mulch, and digging around in the fall could disturb them. Additionally, as a little known fact, many bee species have solitary bees that don’t belong to a specific colony. Those solitary bees will use your garden to call home for the cold winter months.
Second, it might just be easier for you to wait until spring. Sometimes the fall months can get busy with other last minute projects, family events and holidays. Waiting until spring can mean one less thing on your to do list before winter arrives.
If you do wait until spring to clean up the garden, wait until the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees. This gives lingering pollinators a chance to come out of hibernation. It also helps ensure that if there is an unexpected cold snap, there’s a place for pollinators to retreat back to for warmth. Waiting for warmer temperatures can also allow new perennial sprouts a chance to remain covered and protected from unexpected frost.
When you do finally start your spring cleanup, do so gently. You never know what insects are choosing to be slow or late to waking up for the year. Place any healthy cleanup on your compost pile in a loose fashion, and do as little cutting and shredding as possible. If possible, also hold off on mulching your garden. Remember those pollinators that like to bury themselves? Mulching may hinder or prevent them from properly emerging in spring. It might take a bit more time and energy to carefully and cautiously clean up the garden, but it will be worth it in the long run!
