Embracing the Mess of a Winter Garden

By Marissa Ames
Updated on March 20, 2023
article image
by AdobeStock/gojalia

My winter garden is a mess. Dead plants hang off my trellises, and leaf debris litters my walkways.

Autumn and the killing frost happen during hectic times. I’m often traveling for work, preserving my harvests, or facilitating livestock breeding during ruts. We’ll rush out, pack tomatoes in cardboard boxes, and save what we can. The frost takes it all, leaving limp plants that soon dry out. But that’s fine. It’s all part of the scientific process, and it saves me a whole lot of time.

Organic gardening involves science, but you don’t need to be a scientist to grow a successful garden. A couple of simple principles go a long way:

  1. Elements can’t be created or destroyed. They must be made available for plants.
  2. Microbes can’t work without food (organic material), water, and the right temperatures.
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