Did you know that your garden bed can double as a compost site? It’s true! Many gardeners have been using their beds to ferment old leaves and grass cuttings over the fall for ages. As the weather gets colder, soil is actually the perfect place for microorganisms to break down plant waste into nutrients for next year’s crop. Here are a few tips on how to clean garden beds in the fall and get them ready for winter. So, if you’re eager to take a final look at your garden before it goes into hibernation, read our article on how to clean garden beds in the fall, and find out more useful tips!
What You’ll Need
Depending on the size of your garden beds and how many you have, you’ll need different tools to clean your garden beds in the fall. Hoes and shovels are key for removing weeds and planting new things, while a rake is great for breaking down organic matter and mixing it into the soil. Gloves, a garden cart or wheelbarrow, and a compost tester will also help to make the job a lot easier. You might also want to use a cultivator or rake to break up large clumps of soil, particularly if you have clay soil. When it comes to cleaning your garden beds in the fall, the most important tool you’ll need is a pair of gardening gloves. You’re going to be working with soil, compost and plant debris, so you don’t want to get any of that on your hands.
Cleaning Basics
Before you get to work on cleaning your garden beds in the fall, make sure to walk around the site and remove any weeds or dead plants and vegetation, as well as any large stones or wooden planks that you don’t want to be digging out of the ground later on. You can break up larger clumps of dirt with a shovel or cultivator, or you can drag a garden rake back and forth to loosen up the soil. Once you’ve removed any old plant matter from the bed, rake it into a pile to compost or discard it. When you’re cleaning your garden beds in the fall, you want to make sure that they’re in good condition and free of debris so that they can effectively retain water during the winter. You also don’t want any large stones or roots that may get in the way of your planting next spring.
Pull Weeds and Discard Dead Plants & Vegetation
Weeds can be a real problem in the garden, but they’re also a great source of nutrients. If you have a large patch of weeds in one of your garden beds, it’s actually the perfect opportunity to clean that bed and turn those weeds into fertilizer. To do this, you can either break up the weeds and plant material with a rake or shovel, or you can collect them in a garden cart or wheelbarrow and then take them to your compost site. Make sure to remove any roots or stalks from the plants before you put them into your compost. If you have larger weeds, you can just dig them out of the ground. Make sure to get as much of the root as possible since this is where a lot of the weeds’ nutrients are stored.
Rotate Your Beds (Or Change Up Which Crops Grow Where)
If you have a few different garden beds where you grow different types of crops, you’ll want to clean your garden beds in the fall and also rotate your beds. This is a great way to prevent soil-borne diseases and pests, and it also gives your soil a much-needed break by switching up where certain crops grow every year. Keep in mind that certain plants, like root vegetables for example, can actually rob nutrients from the soil where they’re growing, so it’s a good idea to switch them up every few years as well. For those garden beds that are heavily used, or that don’t have great soil, you might want to change up what gets planted there every year. For example, if you have a bed that gets used for growing vegetables, but has very poor soil, you might decide to plant a cover crop there every year instead of digging up the soil and starting from scratch each fall.
Add In A Good Dump Of Organic Matter And Mix It In Well
No garden bed is complete without some old compost, wood chips, or other organic matter. These materials provide your garden with key nutrients, and they also help to retain moisture. Plus, they make the perfect place for microorganisms to thrive while they break down those old garden clippings into plant nutrients ready for next year’s crops. When it comes to cleaning your garden beds in the fall, the best time to add a good dump of organic matter is right before you finish off the gardening season. You can use old compost, leaves, wood chips, or any other decomposing vegetation you have lying around, as long as it’s not too fresh. Whatever you choose to add to your garden beds in the fall, make sure to mix it in well. You don’t want to see any large clumps of material when you dig in your garden next spring.