Putting the Beds to Bed

It is almost time for the dirt in the garden to begin its winter rest. If your garden has raised beds there are a few little things to be done. Old vegetation should be gotten rid of. If there was even a hint of pest infestation, it should be burned or put in the trash to be hauled off. Any beds not used for winter crops should be gotten ready for the winter sleep.

For a 4’ X 8’ bed, about 1 wheelbarrow load of compost should be worked in the top 6” or 8” of soil. An easy way to do this is to dig fairly deep furrows with a hoe. Fill these with compost and then dig new furrows where the ridges are letting the soil fall on the filled furrows. Then the whole bed can be smoothed with a rake and covered with mulch. Leave are great, but don’t use leaves from walnut or hickory as they contain a powerful natural herbicide.

Gardens not in beds should be stripped of old vegetation, covered lightly with leaves and tilled deeply. They should then receive a covering of about 4” to 6” of mulch. Leaves from the side of the road are good for this.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/