Button up Your Overcoat

After you have cleaned up your gardens, spread an inch of compost or a layer of fresh organic mulch (like chopped up leaves) over them. The compost will work its way into the soil, revitalizing it for the spring growing season by adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Most plants that die in the winter do so not from the cold but from having their roots exposed as the soil freezes and thaws. One to two inches of compost or mulch can help keep them covered until the soil freezes and then keep those plants safely frozen until spring arrives.