Before You Put Your Garden to Bed…

Fall is a great time to improve the health of your garden soil. Whether you add organic material or plant a cover crop, both are great for a bigger harvest next year.

Before you add any material, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to get a soil test to see just what your soil needs and what it’s sufficient in already. You can reach out to your local extension agency, like the Ohio State Extension Office or the Kenton County Extension office. Knowing your soil’s nutrient status can help guide you to growing healthier, more bountiful plants by giving you specific amounts of the nutrients your soil may need for the particular plants you’re growing in your garden.

Soil Amendments

If your satisfied with only having a warm weather garden, then prepping your garden bed for spring can start now!

Spreading 2 to 6 inches of finished compost on your bed will help add organic material and feed the soil’s microorganisms through the winter, giving you a rich soil in which to start your garden come spring. I’ve even added my kitchen scraps to my garden bed before when putting it to bed for the fall. If you try this, bury them deep so they don’t attract rodents, and make sure you follow up with a thick layer of leaf mould or grass clippings.

Adding fresh manure is another way to add nutrients to your garden bed and increase its soil health. Spread it on top of the soil or till in a few inches, but always make sure you’re getting it from a reputable source to decrease contamination.

Cover Crops

Sowing a cover crop can also help fertilize your soil over the winter as well as keep it covered with a living mulch. There are many options to choose from that can provide your bed with nutrients and prevent soil erosion during the off season. Some cover crops can fix a deficiency your soil may have by getting nitrogen from the atmosphere. Others help your soil maintain the existing nitrogen the soil already has.

Broadcasting or scattering the seeds across your garden bed is the easiest way to apply a cover crop. This year, I applied a ready-made mix comprised of winter rye, field peas, ryegrass, crimson clover and hairy vetch. This mixture will also help prevent soil erosion over the winter. The peas, clover and ryegrass will winter kill and provide organic matter and a soil cover. The hairy vetch and winter rye will regrow.

Other Soil Covers

There are other soil covers to add to your garden besides organic matter or a cover crop. You can simply make your own mulch from wood shavings, hay, cardboard and/or leaves from yard debris.

Whatever you decide to do, the bottom line is: Do NOT leave your garden bed bare over the winter!