How to get your greenhouse ready for the winter

For many gardeners, autumn is the time of last harvests, cleaning and basically a lot of work in the garden. Have you finished harvesting the last tomatoes and peppers? Well, if you did, now it is the time to winterize your greenhouse and prepare it for the next season. If you neglect your greenhouse and keep postponing be sure that pests and diseases will quickly take advantage over the winter months, and you will have even more work in the spring.

Autumn is slowly approaching and now it is the time to work in your garden and prepare your greenhouse for the winter. When you are done with harvesting remove all plant residues and put them in the composter. But if you had to deal with many pests and diseases this year, burn the plants and replace the old soil with new.

Check the structural integrity

Walk around your greenhouse, check glass for cracks and inspect the overall structure, including joints. If you find rust use a sandpaper to sand the rust off and paint the spots. Replace any structural members that are in a bad shape and may no longer be able to support the structure.

Get the soil ready for the next season

The most important thing to do when winterizing your greenhouse is to thoroughly but carefully plough veggie beds and work in manure or compost. Plants living in greenhouses need a well-nourished soil. If you still have plants in the greenhouse that will bear fruit in the next season, carefully plough the soil around them. Remove any weeds, mainly dandelions or sedges, but you may work remains of plants and smaller grasses into the soil where they will rot and enrich the soils with additional nutrients. When done ploughing do not cover or smooth the soil. You want the soil freeze as deep as possible and kill undesired seeds and germs.

Clean thoroughly

Microorganisms and various pets live in greenhouses and the best way to get rid of them is to use sulphur wicks. Hang them on a wire in the greenhouse and let them burn slowly for two hours. When done, ventilate the entire greenhouse. Wash the inner glass, lubricate window and door moving parts and that is about it. If the roof collects too much snow in the winter sweep it off to prevent structural damage.

Do not postpone these activities until the spring because repairs and general cleaning will take up a considerable amount of time. A time you can spent caring for your plants and for your garden.

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