Tucking summer beds in for winter

As the abundant growth of summer fades, autumn harvests ring plentiful, stores fill and garden beds empty.

Resist any temptation to simply abandon those hard-worked beds as soil left bare for more than a few weeks will soon be taken over by weeds, lose nutrients, erode or become compacted by wind and rain. Take time to see the season through and put garden beds to bed.

Once crops are harvested, spent foliage, if not diseased, should be composted and weeds removed before soil is fed and mulched. Correct soil preparation at this time of year may just determine the success of next year’s garden and will certainly help to reduce the amount of hours needed to work soil next spring.