Having raised garden bed is a great idea for mass who bonk to grow their own vegetables . They are leisurely to maintain , great enough to farm a undecomposed amount of vegetable , and they look really prissy too . lay a garden to seam is one thing , but how to prepare yourraised garden bedsfor winter ?
8 Essential Steps
1. Clean Up
You need to remove all the drop plants and vegetable subject that have wind up their turn season – leaving them in the dirt looks messy , plus it can introduce possible diseases and fungus into your soil .
you could either take away the plant and destroy them , or you could add them to the compost heap to leave nutrient for next year ’s harvest , as long as they are n’t diseased .
Also , take this time to have a really good weed of the plot , to enlighten it up well , and verify there are no trespassing plants which can take hold during the quiet month .
2. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
Not only will mulching your soil well in the wintertime add vital food , but it will also help protect the plot against the cold months .
Mulching avail regulate the temperature of the soil and regulates wet retention , plus it can really help the origin of those plant that drop the whole winter in the ground and give them the serious startle in the spring .
3. Trim And Prune
Many plants will profit from a good , fresh trim at the start of the inhuman time of year , to help them start the next time of year as well and healthy as they can be .
Some plants like autumn pruning more than others ; herbs are obvious candidates , andrhubarband Asparagus officinales will jazz a good haircut .
Some of the balmy fruits , like raspberry and blueberries , persist in to grow into the wintertime , so leave these cat till the spring .
4. Divide Bulbs
If you have flowers growing , the autumn is the meter to prepare them for the next season ’s growth . Lift the bulb and separate them , ready to be planted elsewhere . imbed bulbs quick for the spring is well done now too .
5. Compost
You may think that the wintertime is not the time tofertilize your plant , but it is really a groovy chance to add some nutrient into the grease so that it can get going on releasing its life-sustaining good .
Another good ground to add together compost now is that everything you composted over the summer will now be nicely rot and ready to go in the soil , and it will leave space for the winter ’s offerings .
you could add all of your drop vegetables to your compost , along with fallen leaves and other greenish ( or brown ) matter .
6. Prepare The Soil
labor , weeding , and turning to seem like they should be spring duty , but getting a jump on it now will mean that you have less to do in the outpouring .
add compost , manure or fertilizer now will alsohelp the stain immensely ; the time between now and the next time of year ’s planting will admit the nutrient to spread through the soil .
If this is your first twelvemonth with marque new raised beds , you may discover that the story of territory drops as it start to compact slightly , so adding a little more at this stage is a great theme .
7. Cover Up
Once you have weed out all the encroacher , fertilized your filth and turned it over lightly , you could really “ put it to bed ” – cover the whole bed with sheets of grass cover fabric , which will allow moisture to seep through but will keep the sunshine reaching the ground and help any mourning band to farm .
This is a corking time to put your feet up for a few weeks and bask some clip off from the garden , and pass time where it ’s warm !
8. To Roof or Not to Roof?
If you want to proceed growing veg in the winter , you may put a roof over your raised beds to protect them from the high-risk of the atmospheric condition and keep them slightly warm .
Be aware though , that this can stop the full of life sunlight from get to your plant , so check that you use a see through covering .
Here is a salutary video recording showing you how to do this effectively to serve your raised bottom :
Best Winter Veg
Raised beds are proficient for growing vegetables , even in the winter , because the soil continue somewhat warmer than the more uncovered dirt in a garden or allotment . you could even arise salad in the wintertime calendar month !
1. Salad
you may sow in your salad seed right at the end of the growing season , around September , and glean it from November to January . These lilliputian thinly - leaved plant will not cope well with profound frosts , however warm the dirt is .
2. Radish
Sow radishes in September , and you may enjoy them in November or December . Add a footling sheepskin or mulch to the surface of the filth to keep the roots warm .
3. Leeks
You sow Allium porrum early in the time of year , around May prison term , and you could start to reap them from November .
4. Sprouts
Another veggie that you will be planting early in the season ( around April / May ) , your sprouts should be quick to feed between November and March . These guy actually get a little sweeter after a Robert Frost or two , so do n’t worry about them too much in the cold .
5. Spinach
Although it is a lean - give plant , spinach is actually pretty stout . you may plant it in November , and jump to pick it between January and March .
6. Kale
This nutrient - load down veg is a bully addition to a winter garden . establish the small seedling in the summertime , then you may middling much cut them until November or December when they will start to bring out .
For those who wish a optical guide , this is a bang-up , comprehensive video on how to prepare your raised garden beds for wintertime :
last Words
Winter is often known as “ the hungriness col ” , because the garden will not be produce as much food for thought as in the summertime months , and most thing will have died back .
There are still jobs to do , however , and still , some veg that you could get from your winter beds .
Work out how to train your raised garden seam for winter , so that they will be at their best when next twelvemonth ’s growing season arrives , and you’re able to revel growing veggie for a right foresightful meter to come .
