7 Gardening Tasks to Do Before Your Garden Goes Dormant: Best of Growing Joy Replay

If you're already dreaming about your 2027 garden, I fully support you! But I also want to encourage you to take a beat... because the best thing you can do for next year's garden is to properly put your garden to bed for winter right now. So here's one of my favorite conversations for the Best of Growing Joy series. It's with author and garden influencer Resh Gala, and it's all about what she does at the end of the growing season to feed the soil, support wildlife, and make spring gardening so much easier. We cover compost, cover crops, what to leave behind, and what to clean up during your fall garden cleanup. And Resh shares the one crop you should plant before winter so you can enjoy it in the spring. In this episode, we learn: [05:19] Resh's gardening journey and how understanding soil quality led to her success [07:53] How does Resh balance gardening, extending the growing season, and self-care in her small backyard garden? [09:37] Creating a greenhouse effect in snowy conditions with bent metal or PVC pipes [11:24] Why preparing and “putting to bed” gardens for winter is important [13:20] What are the sustainable gardening practices for winter that you should know about? [16:57] Importance of adding compost to garden beds before winter to improve soil health [19:13] What should be done in spring to prepare the soil for planting? [20:18] Nourish your garden with Espoma Organic's diverse range of organic composts [22:19] Gift a touch of harmony this holiday with Wind River Wind Chimes [25:10] Why cover crops are a valuable addition to regenerative gardening and soil enrichment [28:54] Why it’s easy to grow garlic during winter (keeps pests away, resilient, and is a gardener’s favorite!) [32:09] Why is it important to reflect on the gardening season as part of self-care in plant care? [34:09] Resh’s favorite list of what to grow in preparation for the next garden season (tomatoes and cucumber varieties) [39:59] What kinds of flowers does Resh like to grow in her garden to attract pollinators? [48:19] Pre-order Resh's upcoming book Vegetable Gardening Made Easy later this year [50:52] Where can you find Resh on social media? Mentioned in our conversation: Building and Installing a Low Tunnel Hoop House — Resh Gala Growing Joy Ep 168 Grow Your Own Tea: Intro To Herbalism With Juliet Of Chestnut School Of Herbal Medicine Growing Joy Ep 199 How To Grow Garlic With Jill Winger Growing Joy Ep 200 Common Houseplant Pest Identification And How To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats, Spidermites, Scale, White Flies And Mealybugs Sundried Cherry Tomatoes — Instagram Reel Tomato crops Cucumber crops Pre-order Resh Gala’s book, Vegetable Gardening Made Easy Are you already dreaming about next year's garden? Check out the full show notes and blog for why putting your garden to bed for winter is the best thing you can do! Follow Resh: Website Instagram YouTube Hundred Tomatoes Follow Maria and Growing Joy: Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants)by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here! Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle) Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon! Instagram: @growingjoywithmaria Tiktok: @growingjoywithmaria Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria Website: www.growingjoywithmaria.com Pinterest: @growingjoywithmaria Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.