How To Rejuvenate Raised Bed Soil In The Fall – 6 Easy Ways To Power Up Tired Soil! : Fall is the best time of year to revitalize and reinvigorate your raised beds’ jaded, worn-out soil. And by doing this, you’ll develop even more the next year!
How To Rejuvenate Raised Bed Soil In The Fall – 6 Easy Ways To Power Up Tired Soil!
Let’s face it: the soil can become poor, lifeless, and practically devoid of nutrients after a long season of raising vegetables, flowers, and/or herbs in raised beds. especially if plants have been growing in that soil for a number of years without any further assistance.
No matter how fertile the soil was when you first placed it in your raised beds, one thing is for sure: the following set of plants you plant will suffer if you don’t replenish it with nutrients at the conclusion of each growing season.
How Cover Crops Add Back Energy
Soil ages and becomes brittle, fragile, and dry. When it does, it struggles to retain water or nutrients. Plants suffer as a result, even with regular fertilization and watering. Why? Because neither can be retained by the poor soil for long enough to seep into the roots of the plant.
Important nutrients including calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen are found in all of a cover crop’s decomposing leaves and roots. They also contain trace minerals, which are essential for robust, healthy plant growth.
These nutrients are returned to the soil by the decomposing and dying plant matter of the cover crop. Better yet, while they work, they infuse the soil with life-giving humus and structure. The end product is robust, healthy soil that can produce excellent crops once more!
The Ease Of Planting Cover Crops In Raised Beds
The simplicity of planting a cover crop in raised beds may be its greatest feature. It’s possible to sow a cover crop in just a few minutes!
After removing any outdated plants from your beds, give the bed a light rake to remove any dirt particles. Heavy digging is not required.
After that, distribute your seeds and apply a thin layer of mulch, about 1/4 inch thick. For this, straw, torn leaves, or even green grass clippings work well. Water in the finish, and you’re done!
After planting, all that’s left to do is watch it flourish. Furthermore, no-till cover crops like oats or peas naturally die off in the winter. The oats are excellent because of their high nutritional content and thick covering. In addition to being nutrient-rich, peas also aid in stabilizing soil nitrogen levels.
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Layering In Compost
An autumn compost layer adds power, humus, and structure to raised bed soil. A double dose of organic material can quickly repower beds. It also enriches soil with humus and structure.
Energy abounds in compost. Beds recharge beautifully with nature’s purest power. Covering your beds with a few inches of compost in the fall can replace a lot of soil nutrients before spring planting.
There are several strategies to rebuild soil fertility and structure with compost. Gardeners often apply a two- to three-inch layer in the fall and let it soak in. Compost decomposes and releases energy into the soil in winter.
Adding Grass Clippings & Shredded Leave
Fall leaves and grass clippings are two of the best raised bed rechargers! Broken leaves provide trace nutrients and humus. Green grass clippings are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients.
They can boost soil power when mixed into raised beds in the fall. Using both requires fine shredding. This works well with a lawn mower, especially one with a bagging attachment. Small chippers/shredders do too.
Breaking down materials before adding them helps them breakdown quickly in the soil over winter. They quickly rejuvenate and restore soil! After mixing these materials into the soil, a cover crop can boost power. A little compost may treble the power!
