Garden Ornaments: Fall is Here and Now is the Time to Build Raised Beds and Prepare Garden Beds for Next Spring

Fall is Here and Now is the Time to

Build Raised Beds and Prepare Garden Beds for Next Spring

Fall often signals the end of the gardening season. It is a great time of year to convert your earth beds over to simple raised beds or to increase the size of your garden with another raised bed or two. If you have a raised bed it also the time to clean out the old plants, amend your soil and prepare them for hibernation. Which really means tossing in some compost, dirt and maybe some cover crops. Come the spring, you just need to turn the beds and get them ready for planting.

If you do the work in the fall, come spring you really just have to turn the soil, add what you like and plant your seeds. Raised beds are a great way to organize your garden. They can be planted earlier in the spring, as they drain better and warm faster. They also help you conserve resources by directing you time, amendments and money into the actual planting area. The space between the beds can be mulched for weed control and walking. The good stuff goes into the raised bed.

If you are framing out a new raised bed, you can actually build the frame, lay it down and put newspaper and cardboard over the grass inside the frame. Cover the frame with basic cheap soil to press down the newspaper and come spring you have a place that is weed and grass free. You can add compost and amendments of your choice and just turn the bed. You will be ready to plant come spring.