An urban garden is the perfect way to indulge your green thumb when you don't have much outdoor space. But what can you do with your tiny urban farm during the cold winter months? Here are some tips for managing your garden through the winter season and obtaining the gardening supplies you need to start again next year.
Check for Problems with Your Urban Garden
Before you do anything with the plants, check them for disease and bug infestations. If you spot an infestation or notice some kind of disease affecting the leaves and stems, it's best just to discard the plants entirely and start over fresh in the spring. It's a good idea to toss out the soil as well, in case the bugs or disease have affected its quality. You can purchase new, rich soil from Kurtz Bros. when the weather warms up again.
Prepare the Plants for the Winter Outdoors
Some hardy, well-established perennials can weather the winter outdoors without dying. Make sure they are in an area that isn't subject to strong, cold winds, and wrap them with blankets or burlap. There's no need to brush the snow off their coverings because the snow can serve as extra insulation.
Bring the Urban Garden Plants Indoors
If you want to continue harvesting from certain plants throughout the winter, you can see how well they adapt to life indoors. Plants in portable planters can be carried inside and set near a window that receives several hours of sunlight each day. If the urban garden is a permanent space outside, you can gently remove plants from the soil and re-pot them before transporting them indoors. Remember to do this before the first frost sets in.
Turn Dead Plants into Compost for Your Next Urban Garden
Annuals often reach the end of their life cycle and will die anyway, despite your efforts to keep them going indoors. Once they die, you can pull them up, cut them into pieces, and use the leaves and stems for compost. Even in a limited urban space, you can probably find room for a small compost bin. This way, your plants from the past year can become rich nutrients for next year's foray into urban gardening.
Purchase a Fresh Urban Garden Kit
If your plants don't do well indoors, if they are annuals, or if disease has affected them, you need to start over in the spring. It doesn't have to be a hassle— in fact, with an Urban Garden Kit from Kurtz Bros., you can get everything you need in one place. The kit comes with three 18-inch by 8-inch by 4-inch planters, made from recycled wood. It also includes mesh socks filled with planting media and three seed packets. You can use only the supplies in the kit to keep things simple or add some extra planters, soil, and seeds if you're a little more ambitious with your gardening plans. If you have the space, you could even purchase two of the kits and have a more productive garden to enjoy.