Time to cleanup the vegetable garden

October's sunny days and crisp night remind us that it's time to clean up the vegetable gardens.

Last week's hard frost finished off what was left of the tomatoes and other warm season crops, leaving behind blackened foliage and a few half ripe fruits, prompting us to take advantage of the nice weather to prepare our gardens for winter. Garden cleanup is best done now rather than in the spring. There are two main reasons for this. First, when you cut down and remove spent plants and vines, you're eliminating potential hiding places for insects and disease. Leaving tomato plants, cucumber vines and other vegetable plant debris in your garden after you've finished harvesting, will provide hiding places for pests and plant diseases, giving them a head start on your garden next spring. 

Powdery mildew is a classic example of plant diseases that can survive our winters. You'll want to remove and destroy any vegetable plants that show signs of powdery mildew. Don't add these plants to your compost pile. The temperatures won't get hot enough to destroy the fungus.  Vegetable garden debris can also attract insects. Western flower thrip is an insect that will winter over in your garden, then emerge in the spring to infest your tomatoes and other vegetables.  

If your tomatoes looked like this, it means there were thrips on the plant. Best to clean up the garden now and reduce the chances of thrips or other insects surviving the winter in your garden.

The second reason for fall cleanup is to facilitate adding organic material to your garden bed while the soil is warm and workable. Healthy soil is key to your garden and a clean garden bed is the ideal time to amend your soil. Plan to add 2" to 3" of organic materials.

This can be in the form of packaged organic compost, peat moss and coconut coir that you can easily transport to the garden.

Adding organic material will improve soil structure and increase microbial activity, which leads to stronger root development and improved nutrient uptake.

Strong root systems, healthy, microbial-rich soil are sure to improve the yields in your garden.  Make fall garden clean up a part of your routine. It will set up your vegetable garden for a great start next spring.