It’s finally that time of the year when the nip in the air cannot be ignored anymore. Winter is soon going to be here in all its glory. But while there’s a lot to look forward to — the festive season, the parties, and the extravaganza — your garden too might need some attention.
For Yashika Bisht who runs a luxury resort ‘Moksham Himalayan Campsite’ in Uttarakhand with her husband, this is a very important time of the year.
The changing temperature is cumbersome for any gardening enthusiast. Here, Yashika shares a few tips to ensure your garden is winter-ready.
1. Weed out your plants
Let’s face it. De-weeding the garden is a task. But if you don’t do it now, the problem will only worsen with time. One thing to ensure while de-weeding is to remove the weeds right from the root and use manual methods instead of chemicals that will pose a risk to the healthy plants.
2. Pruning the damaged plants
Following de-weeding, Yashika begins looking for plants that show slight signs of damage. “Sometimes plants tend to rot due to excess water or have leggy growth due to lack of sunlight,” she says. What pruning essentially does is promote healthy plant growth by improving air circulation and enabling the plants to get their fill of sunlight.
3. Till your garden
Before you can begin planting your winter seeds, you should consider tilling the soil. This process improves aeration by breaking compact pieces of soil and encouraging essential nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous in the lower layers to emerge into the upper ones.
4. Add compost to the soil
Balancing soil density is integral to the growth of plants and compost is one of the best ways of ensuring the density remains optimal. Whether it is kitchen waste, manure or wood mulch you plan to use, ensure it is a 50:50 mix of nitrogen and carbon-rich material.
Edited by Pranita Bhat