In my last post, I declared to the world that winter is a time for reprieve from the garden--to relax and rejoice in the fact that there just aren't too many garden chores needing to be checked off the list. But today is a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest and the sunshine has got me thinking more about what I could do in the garden. And the key word here is could do! You don't have to do any of these activities right now; but it might be a good excuse to put on your boots, bundle up in a warm jacket, and get your hands just a little dirty.

Here is a list of 9 winter garden activities that you could do on a nice, sunny day:

1. Raking

2. Weeding

3. Cut down or remove remaining annual plants

4. Cut back herbs

5. Add compost (mulching)

6. Make a compost pile

7. Add wood chips to walking isles

8. Take down old trellising and fencing

9. Plan for next year's garden

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Raking

Raking has to be one of my favorite things to do on a chilly day. If you're reluctant to do anything in the garden because it's just too cold (but there isn't snow on the ground and it's warm enough that everything isn't frozen) then start your day with a bit of raking. After about 10 minutes of raking (and it doesn't even have to be vigorous raking, just the normal kind) I'm warmed up and chances are I may even take off a few layers. Added bonus for all you that have constantly cold hands, raking will get the blood flowing and your hands warmed up quick. Definitely wear some garden gloves or mittens for added protection though.

At the property my partner and I caretake, we have a lot of grass lawn that gets covered in leaves every fall. There's a ton of deciduous trees throughout the property, and so raking is a part of our fall chores. However, the alder trees seem reluctant to drop all their leaves until mid December, so there's always a bit more raking to do in the winter time. I love using the large plastic leaf rakes for bigger areas of raking in the grass lawn. Here's a leaf rake similar to mine. I like to rake all the leaves into several piles and then I use my leaf hands to move the leaves onto a tarp or into bins for moving to the compost pile. Leaf hands are so so funny and look like a gimmick tool at first, but once you use them, you'll never go back to just using your hands to pick up leaves. I swear I can pick up about 10 times more leaves with my leaf hands.

In garden beds, you can use a soft rake, shrub rake, or a hand rake to remove debris, pine cones, and leaves that have blown in. There's been a lot of storms lately, and my garden beds have a lot of sticks, twigs, Douglas fir cones, and leaves scattered throughout. Use various rakes to easily remove the debris so planting will be easy in the springtime.

Weeding

Weeding in the wintertime is so satisfying because once pulled, those weeds aren't growing back any time soon. Right now in Western Washington, there may not be freezing temperatures, but there's just not enough natural sunlight for weeds to grow. And because of the low light-levels, once a weed is removed, no new weeds are growing back any time soon. This is an incredibly rewarding winter chore that will tidy up the garden and make you smile every time you look at your weed-free beds. Hand weeding (simply using your hands to pull out individual weeds) is a good method to use this time of year. I also like using my Japanese Weeding Sickle to remove several weeds at one time.

Cut down or remove remaining annual plants

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that I was a little burnt out in the fall time and there are a few garden chores I just didn't have the motivation to do. After the last green bean harvest in October, I just left all the remaining vegetation. If I had been motivated, I would have chopped down the vegetation (but kept the roots in the ground), raked the soil, and planted a cover crop. However, the green bean bed didn't get cover cropped and is littered with decaying plant mass--more like black sticky things. Use pruners or sheers to remove the above-ground biomass and add to the compost pile.

As a general rule, most annuals have likely died at this point, so it's safe to cut down or remove completely from the garden. Once removed, I like to add all the plant debris/green waste to the compost pile. If any of the plants were diseased when alive, however, I either chuck that green waste into the woods or the trash so I don't contaminate the compost pile.

Cut back herbs

There are some perennial herbs that can be safely cut back in the winter time. Some of these are oregano, mint, echinacea, lemon balm, cat mint, and Russian sage. You'll know when these plants need to be cut back. For example, my oregano grew to about a foot tall this year and now it's just foot long, leaf-less twigs sticking out of the ground. I like to cut all of these leaf-less twigs back to the greenery on the surface of the soil with my ARS hand pruners. This pruning won't harm the plant and will tidy up the garden. You can do this type of pruning on all herbaceous perennials throughout the fall, winter, and into early spring. On the other hand, I have some chocolate mint that's still green and beautiful looking now. If an herb still looks good, I like to leave cutting-back until spring-time.

Add compost (mulching)

After you've raked out all the debris, weeded, cut back herbs, and removed spent plants, top dressing the soil with compost (mulching) is the next step. Adding compost to the top of the soil will add organic matter (which is food for soil microbes), reduce the number of weed seeds in the soil from sprouting in the spring (because they're not exposed to sunlight), and add an extra layer of protection to reduce soil erosion during winter storms. I know I talk about adding compost and the benefits of compost a lot here, but I truly believe in the positive outcomes of adding compost to garden beds.

Adding compost to the top of the soil and not tilling or digging is a method farmers use to enhance crop yields and reduce man-hours needed for preparing beds for planting. One of my favorite no-dig farmer-gardeners is Charles Dowding. On his YouTube channel, he shares his wealth of knowledge farming and gardening in Somerset, SW England and guides you on a no-dig journey. Here's one of my favorite videos, where he shows you how to start a no-dig garden. A little more akin to fine gardening, cottage gardens, and perennial home gardens, this video provides some tips on planting and care of no-dog perennial flower beds.

I am not affiliated with or promoted by Charles Dowding; but he shares so much information translatable to gardening in the Pacific Northwest that he deserves a mention here.

Make a compost pile

After all that raking and weeding you'll need somewhere to put all that green waste! There's no better place than an onsite compost pile. If you live in a city or suburb that has municipal compost service, that's amazing and a great program. However, you can also make your own compost onsite for an enhanced gardening experience. The simplest version is just finding an unused corner of your yard and making a pile. Simple as that! Just a pile you keep adding green-waste and food scraps to. If you're a little more enthusiastic and have a few pallets lying around, here's a simple compost design that uses pallets and chicken wire. There's a million and one ways to make a compost bin and start composting--choose one that works best for you and your garden situation.

At my house, we have a two-bay pallet style compost pile (pictured above). We add locally-sourced manure, kitchen scraps, leaves, and some green waste to the pile. Typically, we use one side until it's full and then turn the pile into the other bay. Turning the compost pile speeds up decomposition and aerates the pile. We don't keep any records or have a time-table on when to turn; we just fill up one side, turn over, and then start the process over again. Adding manure speeds up decomposition and increases the temperature substantially. My best guess is we have usable compost in abut 4 months.

Add wood chips to walking isles

If you have a path that leads through your perennial garden or isles between raised beds, winter is a great time of year to add wood chips to paths and walking isles. Wood chips help keep weeds down, reduce mud after rain storms, are relatively sustainable (as they're usually a byproduct), and make the garden look nice. Bonus: shoveling wood chips from a pile and into walkways will warm you up just as much as raking! I like to add about 4 inches of wood ships over all walkways. Four inches seems to be the golden number: not too much, not too little. The chips will decompose over time, so you'll have to re-chip these areas 1-2 times a year.

Take down old trellising and fencing

Remember those green beans? Well, one variety was a climber I had growing up a trellis in the middle of the bed. And you guessed it! The fence is still in that garden bed. If you plan on planting another climber in the same position, might as well leave the trellis. However, if you're unsure what will be planted next spring, might as well clean up the trellis, remove all the vines, and store in the shed for the rest of winter. Some other garden equipment such as temporary fencing, netting, Remay, support stakes, name tags, tomato cages, pots, and hoses may still be out in the garden. No time like the present to clean all that stuff up and store it somewhere dry for the remainder of the winter. As an added bonus, when you go to plant in the spring, your garden will already be cleaned up and you'll get to planting quicker!

Plan for next year's garden

I saved my favorite winter garden activity for last: planning next year's garden! Winter is a great time of year to reflect on last season's triumphs and shortfalls. What grew well and what died or got diseased or didn't get pruned? Take an inventory of all the perennial shrubs that will need to be pruned, fruit trees that need suckers removed, plants that should be moved to better locations, which beds need more fertilizer, which areas need compost, etc. Write a list down of all the things you'd like to accomplish this season and plan which months you'll do them in. I'm going to write a whole blog post on garden planning throughout the year, so I'm not going to go into too much detail here. But this is an activity more to get you excited about a new year and all the new garden possibilities.

Winter is also the time of year seed companies and nurseries start sending out catalogues and adding new inventory to their online stores. Brows through a few different companies' inventories to see what new varieties will be available this year and when they plan to have items in stock. A few of my favorite places to purchase seeds, bulbs, and bare-root stock are: Fedco Seeds, Johnny's Selected Seeds, and Territorial Seed Company. The last few years have brought higher demand for seeds and plants, so get your orders in early while supplies last! On the other hand, if you're late to ordering, you may be able to get some great discounts in the spring and summer.

So that's it! Nine different garden activities you could do on a winter day. Happy gardening!