Key Takeaways
Harvest the last winter crops, remove dead plant material, and turn under cover crops.
Repair any damage to your raised beds and drip lines.
Test soil nutrients, then replenish and amend the soil with fresh soil and compost.
Even the sturdiest, well-tended raised beds are not immune to wear and tear. Past growing seasons and winter weather take their toll. Over time, frames become weak, and soils are depleted. Get ahead of the game and take the time to address any issues before the planting season starts so you are ready to roll the weather warms up.
From cleanup and repairs to soil amendments, here are 10 ways to ensure your raised bed garden is “spring ready” and in the best possible shape for the growing season to come.
1. Harvest Winter Crops
Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks, winter cabbages, and other cold-hardy crops may survive winters in mild climates and keep growing until spring. To get your raised beds ready for the new planting season, it’s time to harvest the last of your winter crops to free up soil space. Afterwards, pull the entire plants with their roots and add them to your compost pile.
2. Check for Damage
Raised beds develop wear and tear as they age and may also sustain damage from temperature fluctuations, strong winds, and fallen tree branches. Inspect wooden raised beds for broken or rotted boards and replace them. If necessary, add screws to weak joints to fortify them.
The sides of raised beds may also bulge or bow at the centers due to soil pressure inside. To stabilize bulging sides, drive rebar rods into the soil along the exterior of the beds. The other solution, affixing 2×4 or metal rod crosspieces across the center of the bed, is more involved as it requires excavating some of the soil to install them.
3. Remove Dead Plants
Old, dead plants leftover from the previous growing season may harbor pests and diseases that can infect future plants. To avoid this, pull out any dead plants, leaves, and other debris that are still in your raised beds and throw them in the trash or your firepit. It’s best not to compost old plant matter from veggie beds, because pests and diseases can potentially survive the composting process.
Tip
If you applied deep layers of mulch to your beds in autumn, removing some of the excess mulch in spring will help raised bed soil warm up a little faster.
4. Turn Cover Crops Under
If you’ve planted cover crops as “green manure” at the end of last season, these need to be turned under before the new planting season starts. When you plan to plant your first spring crops determines how to manage the cover crops.
If you have at least 3 to 4 weeks before planting, and the cover crop plants are fairly short, till them directly into the soil. If you don’t have that much time before you start planting, or the cover crops are tall, cut the tops off with shears or a weed whacker and add them to your compost. Then dig the roots as deep as possible into the soil where they will decompose also but won’t interfere with your new plants.
5. Test Your Soil
It is recommended to test your soil at least once every 3 years to make sure it has the right nutrients and pH levels for the plants you want to grow. You can either do a basic at-home test with a soil test kit or, for a more precise test by a test lab, submit soil samples to your local Cooperative Extension Office. Either way, the results of your soil test will let you know if you need to add any amendments to your soil before the planting season starts.
6. Add More Soil and Compost
Raised bed soil naturally becomes compacted over time and begins to settle and sink to a level that is no longer sufficient for root growth. The required depth of the soil depends on what you are growing. For example, tomatoes have deep root systems and need soil that is at least 18 inches deep.
When the soil level has dropped, top off your beds with more raised bed soil, followed by about 1 to 2 inches of compost. While you are at it, freshen up the mulch around the exterior of your raised garden so weeds can’t get a foothold.
7. Inspect Drip Lines
If you have a drip line irrigation system in your raised beds and left it out through the winter, turn the drip line on when the weather permits and watch to see if the line springs a leak anywhere. Sometimes, drip line connections can become loose, which is an easy fix. But rodents may also chew holes in drip line hoses that may require patching or a replacement hose.
8. Warm the Soil
Although you may be impatient to start planting in spring, it’s important not to sow seeds and place plants in your raised beds too early. There is a way, though, to speed the planting season along. Lay black agricultural-grade plastic over the soil in your raised beds, which will help the soil warm a little faster. You may also want to invest in a soil thermometer, which helps you judge the perfect time to start planting.
9. Install Trellising
Small trellises, tomato cages, and trellising systems like the Florida weave are usually installed at planting time. If you intend to use a more substantial trellising system, like a cattle panel trellis, it’s wise to install it early. Not only will this make it easier to plant when spring arrives, but installing trellising after planting increases the risk of damaging plant stems and roots.
10. Plan and Time Your Plantings
Before the growing season starts, make a planting schedule. Deciding what to plant in different sections of your raised beds should take into account light and space requirements, plant height, plant compatibility (aka companion planting), and, very important, crop rotation. Ideally, you have records of what you grew in which area of your raised beds in the past.
In general, it’s best to plant tall plants like sunflowers near the rear or north side of your raised beds. Rotating crops is key because planting the same crops in the same section of your beds year after year can lead to a buildup of plant pests and diseases and nutrient depletion.
Read the original article on Better Homes & Gardens
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