[raisedbed]

Hello all,

Hope all the harvesting is going well and lots of great produce being harvested in return for all the hard work we put in.

I have noticed of late quite a few posts asking "what can I plant in the empty gaps I now have." Well I am not going to ask that!

Spoke to the council and am now at number 3 on the list. The council has written to all allotment owners asking them either to start looking after their plot or return it so that one of the 58 people on the waiting list can have it.

Given the state of some of the plots I am guessing I should get my plot soon! This means that the raised beds that I put in at the mother/father in laws are not going to be needed. I do want to keep them in good order for the mother in law - wants to use them for salad type stuff next year.

So to my question - What do I need to do to put them to bed for the winter?   Just weed, dig over and cover with mulch/black weed liner?

Or is there some kind of dark art I should employ?

Thanks

Raisedbed


Happy growing

[dugless]

There are several methods to do this, denighing the weeds of light  is the thing that certainly works

[corndolly]

The only problem with covering with  black plastic and possibly weed suppressing membrane is slugs . Because it will remain damp they will love it.

You might consider growing a green manure which could be dug in a month or so before planting or even pulled up and put on the compost heap. We did this with field beans and were pleasantly surprised with the results.

You could grow some veg on them through the winter for your Mum and Dad in law to enjoy ,winter lettuce is very nice. I
Not knowing the size of plots , another suggestion is planting fruit bushes such as Gooseberries,Blackcurrants or Rhubarb and salad can be grown around the edges.

Good Luck with your new plot.

[raisedbed]

Thanks for the replies.

They already have a rhubarb patch (sick of the damned stuff at the moment, stewed rhubarb overload!)

I do like the idea of the green manure if all you have to do is seed and leave  it till next year.  

Thanks

Raisedbed

[Kate and her Ducks]

Have you thought of panting a green manure, something that grows in the plot, supresses weeds and then you dig in and add nutrients to the soil?

[Janeymiddlewife]

raised bed wrote:

They already have a rhubarb patch (sick of the damned stuff at the moment, stewed rhubarb overload!)

I'm trying to make rhubarb sorbet as I type, seems fairly easy - I'll let you know - also my mum used to make rhubarb in raspberry jelly and make it into a type of "slush" - might make it a bit more bearable - must be nearly at the end of its' useful season though? Won't it get a bit tough soon?

[noshed]

You can still grow beetroot, lettuce etc now but if you want to put yer beds to bed, just cover them with some compost or rotted manure.

[birmancats]

I cover mine with cardboard.  By next spring it will dig in really easily and the soil should be light and moist but not too wet.