Lulling Your Garden Beds to Sleep

Cathy, Evelyn and Mary prepping
beds for fall/winter crops

We love William Horvath’s information about permaculture and growing food.  His website, Permaculture Apprentice, can be accessed from the Permaculture Resources list on the right sidebar.  You can sign up on his site to receive his periodic emails   They always furnish tons of great information to inspire your gardening.  If you’re interested in learning more about permaculture, he offers excellent online courses.   

His latest offering is detailed information about improving your garden soil during fallow periods.  While it refers to gardens in cooler climates with no winter crop, this method can be used any time your garden beds are not in use for even short periods, or if some of your garden space is unused for a season, or any time you want to rejuvenate or boost your garden fertility.  It’s also good for annual ornamental beds in the off season.  

This method is a good idea to prepare for each new growing season, and doing it several weeks or months ahead gives soil organisms time to multiply and begin their work   

We share William’s information on putting your garden to sleep here:

“Imagine a lush and mature forest in the fall. Tall trees tower above, while diverse plants carpet the ground, and mushrooms sprout among them. As autumn progresses, trees shed their leaves, blanketing the forest floor, which is already full of plant debris. This rich organic matter layer made of dead plants and fallen leaves then creates a natural mulch atop the soil. Over the coming months, microorganisms slowly break down this mulch, recycling nutrients and delivering them to plant roots in spring. This is the process that creates that black, earth-smelling soil that's buzzing with life and full of nutrients! I want to help you mimic this process in your garden and prepare your garden beds for spring. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, now is the best time to do this fall/winter soil building and improve the soil fertility of your overworked garden beds. I call this gardening project Putting Garden Beds to Sleep. So, let’s gently lull them to sleep, shall we? There are five simple steps to put your garden beds to sleep. STEP 1: Clean up the garden bed First, remove all weeds and plant debris from the garden bed. Pick up the dead and rotting vegetable parts and plants to eliminate the possibility of pests and diseases overwintering, and then restart in spring. Pull all weeds from the bed and dig their roots out; this will prevent them from taking over the bed in spring. STEP 2: Loosen up the soil Next, loosen up the soil a bit. This will add oxygen to the soil and help improve drainage before winter weather. Use a broad fork or pitchfork to do this. Here’s how this step looks like: Broadfork in Action STEP 3: Add soil helpers Now, inoculate your soil with helpers that will aid in decomposition and nutrient uptake. Unless the soil is already rich in soil life, add worms, mycorrhizal fungi, and beneficial bacteria. You can do this in a number of ways, from compost to compost tea and various inoculates you can make yourself (more on that some other time) STEP 4: Add organic materials and amendments Next, add soil amendments and compost to the beds. [Based on the results of a soil test] Depending on the nature of the deficiencies of your soil, you could use: Sulfur to lower the pH Lime to raise the pH Bonemeal or Phosphate Rock to increase phosphorus levels Alfalfa meal to improve the soil condition and nutrient composition. Kelp to supply a range of trace nutrients, as well as a dose of plant hormones. Wood Ash – to increase potassium levels and raise pH. Composted animal manure – to supply a variety of nutrients. Once you are done, spread generous amounts of compost, preferably from your compost pile or worm castings. Apply it in a 2 – 4 inch (5 – 10 cm) thick layer. Finally, work in the soil amendments and compost into the top 6 – 8 inches (15 – 20 cm) of the soil with a spade or digging fork. In my case, I’ve spread my not-fully-yet-decomposed compost, which will break down over the next 4-5 months. STEP 5. Add organic mulch for protection Lastly, add a layer of organic matter in the form of mulch. Mulch is like a warm blanket you spread over your garden to keep it safe and protected through the winter. A good mulch insulates the soil, keeping it from freezing or at least from freezing as deeply as it otherwise would. This allows soil organisms to remain active for much longer. It also prevents weeds from invading the dormant bed during winter, and as an icing on the cake, as it breaks down, it releases new nutrients into the ground. Leaves and leaf mold, grass clippings, straw, and hay are good choices for winter mulch. Spread the mulch evenly with your hands or rake. And that’s it. That’s how you lull your garden beds to sleep. You’ve added all these organic materials, and now it will start breaking down, enriching your soil, and becoming biologically active for your plants in the spring. Happy growing, -William”