Tips for cleaning up your vegetable garden at the end of the season [Master Gardener column]

Cleaning up your vegetable garden at the end of the season goes a long way toward avoiding pest and disease problems next year.

You may have heard that it is a good idea to leave plant material standing in the garden to provide shelter for beneficial insects over the winter. This is true of perennial plants, especially natives, but annual vegetable plants have different considerations.

Our favorite edibles, such as tomatoes, peppers, squash and beans, have been cultivated for many years, and insect pests and diseases have evolved along with them.

Diseases and insects in the soil

Spores that cause blights in tomatoes and potatoes, verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, mosaic viruses and powdery mildew can all overwinter in debris and target healthy plants next growing season. Pests sheltering in debris and soil include flea beetles, potato beetles, bean beetles, allium leaf miners, squash vine borers — the list goes on and on.

Disposing of debris

Resist the urge to hang onto summer vegetables in order to harvest that one last tomato or pepper! When plants are decimated by disease or frost, remove the entire plant and dispose of them in your municipal waste. Attempting to compost them may just allow the problems to persist.

In addition to removing spent vegetable plants, it is a good idea to note where vegetable families were planted and rotate the location next season. That way, any disease or insect that has evaded cleanup will not find its host easily next year.

Preparing the soil for next year

You may have planted some cool-season crops, such as broccoli, cabbage, and spinach. It's OK to keep these growing, but when they are spent, follow the same guidelines as you would for tender vegetables. Once the soil is cleared, spreading compost and spading it into the soil will improve the soil structure for next year. You can take advantage of fallen leaves by turning them into the soil as well. Fall is also a great time to correct any soil deficiencies. For example, a summer soil test revealed that the pH in my vegetable bed is higher than recommended, so I will work in the specified amount of sulfur this fall.

You may also plant a cover crop to help prevent compaction, suppress weeds and retain moisture. These include crimson and white clover, hairy vetch, buckwheat, oats, tilling radishes and rye. Ideally, these should be planted in September, but winter rye may be successfully planted later in the fall.

Join the Master Gardeners for a fall gardening program

From 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, Penn State Master Gardeners of Lancaster County will present a free workshop, titled "Gather, Connect, and Grow: Fall Gardening Chores." Presenters will discuss pruning, winter sowing and protecting beneficial insects over the winter.

The program takes place at the Farm and Home Center at 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. Preregistration is not required. For questions, contact Penn State Extension of Lancaster County at 717-394-6851 or Lancaster