Question: preparing garden for winter

[5 Points Wingfeather]

I did a 375 square foot garden this year and I did it up in rows and planted directly in the ground. It worked really well for us—other than we got a little lazy with the weeding. Here’s my question: what suggestions do you have for over the winter? Does anyone try to use cardboard over winter and do no till? Compost the rows? I’m just looking for suggestions

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Sounds like a great size garden! To put my garden "to bed," for winter I do not til, I layer instead but I don't use cardboard anymore. It makes a real mess if you ever want to move a raised bed or if you dig down to it then you have small pieces of mushy cardboard everywhere. Putting cardboard on top might be okay but it's hard to manipulate like good ole black plastic and you'll still get mush if you get alot of rain like me. My biggest issue is that my soil is sand and I need the nutrients to not wash away, leach down during winter. So my process is that whatever is left in rows after harvest, I chop it and leave as a layer. Then I add a big thick layer of compost whether it is well rotted or new, it can be horse poo or chicken poo with bedding. Then I use black farm plastic sheets over the top with bricks and rotting logs on sides to hold it down. In spring I can incorporate logs that have broken down well enough into my soil.

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

To keep your soil food web active, you could plant out something like Crimson Clover. Then turn it into the soil after it matures for a nitrogen rich soil come spring. Or, plant out something to eat like greens and turnips.

 

[TooCheep]

To keep your soil food web active, you could plant out something like Crimson Clover. Then turn it into the soil after it matures for a nitrogen rich soil come spring. Or, plant out something to eat like greens and turnips.

@5 Points Wingfeather - This is called "cover cropping". Check into it. It is a good way to add additional organic matter into the soil, keep it covered (very important to retain moisture and suppress weeds), keep the soil looser, can be chopped down as mulch in the spring and in some cases create additional food (ex: Daikon radish). There are multiple plants that work as cover crops, so check into them and see if you want to use one or more in your garden over the winter.

 

[Acre4Me]

You are in a mild climate. I suggest a cover crop of some kind. Winter peas are something we will plant here, but I’m 6A, so colder and longer winter than yours.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

Is it too late to plant a cover crop? And then in spring, do you just cut it down and plant directly into old rows or do you need to till again and re rake up the rows

 

[TooCheep]

Not sure about dates. It varies by plant and planting zone. You'll need to do some research on that.

As for spring, you commonly would chop-and-drop in place and use it as a mulch to retain moisture and plant into the mulch. You also want to leave the roots in the soil so they can die, break down and feed the worms. You should also do this with your garden plants- leave the roots when possible. The mulch will also break down and provide natural nutrients to the garden.
The technique is a form or organic gardening which builds up organic matter in your soil, helps to loosen the soil and provides nutrients for the life in the soil- worms, fungus, bacteria, etc. Those in turn convert the organic matter into forms that your garden will be able to better utilize. Over a number of years, this cycle can build to allow for amazing results, but it isn't an instant solution.
If you do use these techniques, then I recommend that you do no additional rototilling. That will break up and kill a lot of the under-soil life. Some hand tilling to break up chunks of soil and loosen weeds is fine.

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

Is it too late to plant a cover crop? And then in spring, do you just cut it down and plant directly into old rows or do you need to till again and re rake up the rows

Timing depends on what you're wanting to plant. Seeds have ideal germination temperatures. I use a compost thermometer to check my soil temp.

In MS, you should be able to sow several types of plants right now and be just fine. It'll be too late for plants that need to reach a certain stage of growth before it gets too cold, like broccoli. You could totally plant greens like Mustard, Collard, Kale. Those grow very well in winter and you can eat on them all winter long.

 

[Acre4Me]

Is it too late to plant a cover crop? And then in spring, do you just cut it down and plant directly into old rows or do you need to till again and re rake up the rows

Nope, ok for certain things. Some things grow ok in cool weather. Till it under in spring before it forms seeds. It’s called “green manure”