CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) — It’s time to put the vegetable garden to bed for the season and Noelle Akin from Petitti Garden Centers shared important tips with Fox 8’s Scott Sabol.
Harvest any remaining vegetables & herbs. To hasten ripening of green tomatoes, cut the vines to hang upside-down in the garage or pluck the fruit to store in the kitchen. All they really need is temperatures 55 degrees or warmer to ripen.
Clean out the garden of spent plants, any weeds, and debris so any pests present won’t have a place to winter over.
Test the soil using a pH meter to determine the pH level. The goal is to have neutral soil with a pH of 6.5-7. If the number is low (indicating acidic soil levels), add Garden Lime now to help raise the pH and neutralize the soil by next spring.
Add nutrients back into the soil. Vegetable plants take a lot out, so it’s important to add nutrients in the fall so they will incorporate nicely by next spring. Natural, organic matter like Sweet Peet® and composted manure are perfect options.
Sprinkle Preen® across the top of the soil. It’s a pre-emergent weed control that prevents seeds from germinating, so weeds will be less likely to sprout and take hold this fall, winter, and early next spring.
As an alternative to Preen®, sow Winter Wheat seeds over top of your soil. They’ll work as a cover crop to prevent weeds while also adding nutrients to the soil and keeping soil loose, not compacted.