Thanks to the many conveniences of technology and gadgets for your garden, it’s never been easier to garden in winter. With the colder months fast approaching, these garden gadgets can help extend your growing season or better prepare you for the next one.
Whether you’re prepping your outdoor space to garden in winter or nurturing indoor plants, these eight tools are versatile must-haves.
1. Indoor Garden Lights Add Virtual Sunlight
You and your plants fare better inside when the weather is cold, but this limits how much sunlight your greenery can absorb. Indoor garden lights help you garden in winter whether you’re tending a permanent indoor garden or just moving outdoor plants inside for the season.
An indoor garden light provides the “sunlight” your plants need no matter where you place them. When you start searching for grow lights for your indoor garden, be sure to keep the following in mind to choose the right one:
- Keep in mind what you’ve planted
- Consider where you keep your plants
- Take into account how much natural sunlight your plans already receive
2. Continue Outdoor Gardening in Winter With a Cold Frame
The winter months don’t have to drive you inside—your outdoor gardening can extend into winter with a cold frame. A cold frame protects plants from frost and cold while also letting in light. They work best with raised garden beds, and in areas sheltered from the wind.
The Exaco Biostar cold frame is a rigid, permanent structure you can install and use year-round. Other systems like the FrameItAll Extendable cold frame greenhouse are simple, temporary structures you can erect over your outdoor winter garden to keep it safe from the elements.
3. Vertical Planters Save Space & Add Greenery Indoors
Indoor gardens aren’t just for winter—they’re a great addition to a home in any season. Live plants bring a lot of warmth and texture to a room but they can also take up a lot of space. The solution? Vertical planters.
Arranging your plants with vertical planters is an efficient (and visually appealing) way to garden indoors. Depending on the design, they may also free up floor space and lift your plants out of reach of little hands and paws. They’re also easy to set up. You can purchase a vertical planter kit or get more creative with a DIY display.
4. Humidifiers (or Dehumidifiers) Create the Right Indoor Garden Climate
When it comes to gardening inside versus outside, we tend to think of sunlight first. But humidity levels are equally as important for many plants. Your plants may be accustomed to especially humid or dry air and it’s important to recreate their preferred humidity levels inside to keep them healthy.
Depending on your local winter climate, an ultrasonic humidifier, or a dehumidifier if required, will help even out the moisture levels in your home and provide a better environment for your plants—and for you.
Humidifiers and dehumidifiers offer a lot of great benefits for people, too:
- Humidifiers moisten dry air to help with allergies and prevent dry nasal passages
- Dehumidifiers suck moisture out of the air, which can help prevent mold and other allergens from hanging around
5. Sturdy Rakes Help Clean Up Hard Ground
The winter season is a great time to spruce up your garden for spring. And a tough and rugged rake can help you clear the dead weeds from the solid ground more easily, so you can prepare for a springtime garden revival.
While it may seem excessive to have more than one rake, the wrong rake for the job could unintentionally harm your plants or seeds. Let’s say you’ve let your weeds get the better of you during fall. The cold kills the weeds, but the cold also freezes the ground. This is why a metal-tine rake like the Ames Thatching Rake is great for cleaning up hardened garden beds.
6. Foldable Garden Kneelers & Seats Keep You Off the Cold Ground
Using a garden kneeler protects your knees while you winterize your soil and tend to your plants. You can also use these convenient seats to care for those plants you moved indoors, too.
There are a number of garden kneeler variations: some fold away neatly to save space, some double as a sitting bench and others have pockets for gardening tools. No matter which one you choose, be sure to store it in a dry place to prolong its lifetime.
7. Mark Your Place With Plant Markers
Whether you’re gardening inside or outside, plant markers help keep track of what you planted in each pot or space. This prevents you mistreating your plants before they sprout, because you can easily over or under water smaller plants if you mix up which plant is where.
Plant markers are also great for maintaining your outdoor garden throughout winter. Avoid labels that the snow and rain will erase, as that will leave you trying to decipher what your label said come spring. You can make your own labels from plastic or wood cut offs, or you can purchase them from most supply stores.
8. Add Charm & Convenience With Watering Cans
A watering can is an obvious must-have for any garden—indoor or outdoor. But many gardeners make the mistake of choosing convenience over longevity.
Inexpensive plastic watering cans are prone to cracks and may need to be replaced more often than hardier, metal ones. That said, cheap metal cans may rust over time and cause you to inadvertently expose your plants to unwanted materials picked up from the aging metal.
Consider investing in a stainless steel watering can. It will last for many years and won’t expose your plants to any harmful, unwanted substances.
Enjoy Maintaining Your Garden in Winter
Gardening is a fantastic hobby and one that you can enjoy any time of year with the right equipment and plan for gardening in winter. Finding the right tools is an important part of growing healthy plants and enjoying the experience, season after season.
