Out with the old...!
November 14, 2025 | By TigreBlume
Today, we finally got a nice flush of warmer weather! 50-degree temps and sunshine. Now this is my kind of fall weather 💖!
With that being said, one of the garden tasks on my to-do list for the day was to pull any remaining spent plants and cut my tomato and pepper plants back to root level. This ensures I have a clear palate to work with come spring. There is a lot of hustle and bustle that comes along with planning out my spring garden and caring for all my seed starts. Cleaning out garden beds is something I don’t want to have to worry about when it is time to start amending the beds to prepare them for spring planting.
To be honest, I even have to force myself to pull things that are still blooming or showing new signs of life. It’s only a matter of time before we get another wave of snow or really hard frost, so why prolong the inevitable? This is literally what I have to keep telling myself.
Therefore, I make it a priority to go through each bed (in-ground and raised) and fabric bag around the garden and clean out spent plants and anything that I don’t want to remain there over the winter. I have 7 garden beds and lots of fabric bags and container to clear out. So, I tackle one or two beds, or a few fabric bags and container, at time to make the process more manageable.
To keep myself somewhat organized, I make a note of what I want to tackle on a particular day or weekend. This way, I have a certain goal in sight. Things happen and I may not necessarily get everything done, and that is perfectly fine. It’s all about having a plan of action and working through that plan at your own pace.
Where possible, I also top dress the vegetable and flower garden beds with old marigold plants (this is one of my favorite companion plants) that have gone to seed so I can have an abundance of marigold pants to spread around the whole garden when they pop up in the spring/summer.
Lastly, I will add mulched tree leaves to each bed and fabric bag, then cover with cardboard so the leaves can break down and enrich the soil over the winter. This technique also saves me money on soil as I don’t have to amend the garden beds with a lot of soil come spring. The leaves will also attract worms and other beneficial insects which will aid in building soil microbes. Soil microbes are crucial for plant growth, nutrient availability, and ecosystem stability.
As I make my way through the garden to complete all these various tasks to put it to rest, I am so thankful for all my garden has given me this year – spiritually, physically and mentally. I’m also making a mental note of what went well, what did not go as planned, and what changes I may need to make next season to maximize my growing space and harvest and preserve even more food for me and my family. Eventually, I will memorialize this information in my journal and use it to plan out the garden for next year. But for now…let’s finish moving out the old so we can prepare it for something new😉!
