10/01/2026
For me, I just leave it. I let my annuals die in place and rip them out in the spring. This provides critical bug habitat for overwintering bugs and food for early spring birds.
In areas where I have to dig and remove things that I want to overwinter and not freeze. For example, my dahlias, I dig those up once they are sufficiently black and dead, say maybe November. I store those tubers in an area that will remain chill, but not freeze. Then in the garden where they were, I seed a cover crop. For me, I've tried oats and rye. I much prefer the rye, the oats never seemed to germinate. I do this so that in the spring when the ground is still too cold to work, there is still a root structure in the soil to hold all my nutrients in place. I really don't want my soil washing away with a heavy spring rain, I work way to hard to build up the nutrients and structure of that dirt to just let it wash away.
Our first frost date here is Zone 5b Wisconsin is usually around Oct. 12, but it can come as early as Sept. 28th or as late as October 20th.
