Hopefully you are now inundated with tasty tomatoes, zucchini and peppers. It may take all winter to use them up, which is a good thing since it’s time to tuck the garden in for bed time, so to speak. Follow these ten tips to get your garden ready for winter and make sure your plants are as snug as a bug in a rug.

Get the Rest of the Goodies
Even if you don’t know what you’re going to do with so many vegetables, go ahead and harvest your remaining crops. Pickle the cucumbers, freeze the peppers and can the tomatoes. You’ll be happy you have these fresh tasting goodies in winter instead of the stale imitations at the grocery store, even if you’re sick of them at the moment.

Be Sure to Save Your Seeds
If you are growing heirloom crops, the seeds that your plants produce will be more suited to your climate than any that you buy next year. In fact, most farmers of heirlooms take the seeds from the strongest plants to ensure that each successive planting will produce a hardier, more well adapted crop.

Winterize Your Roses
If your ground freezes for much of the winter, it is a good idea to protect your roses. Stop giving them nitrogen based fertilizers by early fall and replace it with a non-nitrogen base. Prune the canes back to prevent any breakage and tie their tips together. Then hill the soil around the base of your bush to provide additional warmth for the roots and insulate with mulch. If it gets very cold, you may want to consider insulating structures as well.

Check the Quality of Your Soil and pH
Start by checking your pH. It’s actually not that hard to test it. pH meters are cheap and will give a good indication of what you need to add to adjust your soil for your winter dormancy. If your pH is too low, add a bit of lime to make it more alkaline. If it is too high, add some sulfur to bring it down. Once the amendments are added, make sure it’s not too packed. If it is, consider a mulching soil amendment to lighten it up.

Halt the Irrigation
It’s a good idea to turn off the sprinklers in the winter to prevent damage to the pipes during a freeze. Make sure the pipes are well insulated, even if they are expected to remain empty, to prevent accidental bursts.

Prepare Your Perennials
Some perennials will need a little extra protection during the winter if it gets colder than normal. Keep a sharp eye out for hard frosts and if they occur, make sure you have the materials necessary to cover or insulate plants that normally remain alive through the cold. This is also the best time to plant new bare root perennials such as grapes and berries and also to divide clumps of roots for an expanding crop next year.

Care for Your Bulbs
Now is the time to divide bulbs and replant them. Make sure you plan their planting so that they will not bloom before danger of the last frost has passed, otherwise, the tender new shoots will need to be covered with cloches during a surprise early spring freeze. If the bulbs are not well adapted to your level of cold, be sure to add a little mulch as well. This will allow for a bit more root growth before it becomes too cold.

Make a Compost Pile
You will thank yourself in the spring if you haven’t already started a compost pile. Consider a vermiculture bin, as the worms will help to keep your soil well aerated as well.

Protect your trees
Winter can be very damaging for trees. Protect young, dormant trees with shrouds. Their tender bark is especially vulnerable to wildlife nibbling in the winter. If any more established trees should suffer frost damage or broken branches, be sure to cut off the wounded limbs and seal them over before any insect infestations or rot can set in.

Consider Planting a Winter Patch
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts actually thrive in the winter. Some varieties are so hardy they will even produce in the snow. Consider planting a fall crop of cold weather plants and don’t forget the lettuce, which can become bitter and bolt in the heat, but is yummy and mild as a cool weather crop.