How Do You Maintain Your Raised Beds Through the Seasons?

[Green Myrnz]

Hey everyone!

I’ve got a raised bed garden and I’m wondering how you all manage plants through different seasons. Some of my plants like strawberries and snow peas only last for a season, but others like spring onions and lemon trees seem to do well year-round.

How do you keep your raised beds thriving through the weather changes? Do you rotate crops, protect plants from the cold, or add anything special to the soil?
Where I live is summer, and sometimes I cover my spinach with a thick cloth (hoping it will help protect it from the heat), but it ends up drying and dying. The same thing happens with my avocado tree. Any tips for keeping things going year-round would be awesome!

Thanks!

 

[Meadowlark]

Welcome!

I'm a raised row gardener myself mostly plus some Hügelkultur containers (HK) but have a few thoughts to offer to your raised bed questions.

...How do you keep your raised beds thriving through the weather changes? ...

I garden 365 days a year... i.e. always have something growing whether its veggies and/or cover crops. I make heavy use of green manures, chop and drop organics, and composted cow manure in addition to legume cover crops and grow veggies without synthetic fertilizers or non-organic treatments. My soil consistently tests out "No N, P, K required" with this approach.

Do you rotate crops...

Yes, absolutely and have been raising veggies in the same location for over 4 decades consistently providing over 90% of the veggies consumed by my family. I use cover crops in rotations including fall/winter cover crops as well as spring/summer cover crops.

I might add I also make extensive use of companion plants, trap plants, repellant plants, and pollinator attractors.

protect plants from the cold?

Yes, when necessary, I use drop cloths on some raised rows and sometimes move HK containers to protection. Its winter here currently and I have tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels, onions, potatoes, carrots, radishes, turnips, etc. going strong. Winter cover crop currently includes turnips, radishes, cereal rye, clover and others and I do not provide any projection to those.

... add anything special to the soil?

Yes, but only what I source from my land...with very few exceptions e.g. fish emulsion. My principal soil additive is well composted cow manure which I source from my own cows/hay.

... Any tips for keeping things going year-round would be awesome!

Thanks!

Of course, your climate is the primary influencer on year-round growing, but I'm convinced that nutrient dense soil amended by heavy use of organic materials provides a significant buffering effect to the ravages of climate... cold or hot, wet or dry...not to mention healthy, nutrient dense, outstanding tasting veggies.


That's my approach and it works for me...others have their own individual approaches, and I do believe you have to find what works for you in your situation.

Again, welcome and good gardening!!

 

[Meadowlark]

@Green Myrnz ,

I don't normally or ever do this but please allow me to offer some introductions to our group. We have recently been plagued by PORN posters who have unfortunately run off many of our core members. However, we are fighting off the PORN and have several days now of PORN free discussions of which I am so thankful and proud.

We have the pre-eminent online plant "diagnosticator " here who joins me in Moderating @Chuck . He is the best I have ever seen in my lifetime, and it is an honor to be on the same forum with him.

@LouisFerdinand has provided literally thousands of posts and photos on all kinds of plants. @Esther Knapicius shares her wonderful gardens with us and provides a much-needed Northern America view. @Oliver Buckle has extensive gardening experience and shares it with us all from his UK viewpoint. @big rockpile provides unique midwestern views on gardening. @YumYum has outstanding soil expertise which he provides from his midwestern area. @pepper2.0 gives sometimes rebellious but highly intelligent views from a Canadian viewpoint. @Sean Regan provides great insights into his UK gardens as does @Sheal and @Logan in the UK.

And many many others. The danger of doing this is missing some key names and I'm sure I have and apologize in advance. I'm not sure who we have left after the horrible PORN attacks but we are rebuilding together.

We need an "Aussie" view here and perhaps you will provide that.

Again welcome and again my apologies to anyone I left out...its late.

 

[Green Myrnz]

Thank you so much for the kind introduction and warm welcome! It’s inspiring to see such a passionate group rebuilding together. I’m excited to join the discussions, learn from everyone, and contribute where I can. Looking forward to being part of this amazing community!

 

[Green Myrnz]

Welcome!

I'm a raised row gardener myself mostly plus some Hügelkultur containers (HK) but have a few thoughts to offer to your raised bed questions.

I garden 365 days a year... i.e. always have something growing whether its veggies and/or cover crops. I make heavy use of green manures, chop and drop organics, and composted cow manure in addition to legume cover crops and grow veggies without synthetic fertilizers or non-organic treatments. My soil consistently tests out "No N, P, K required" with this approach.



Yes, absolutely and have been raising veggies in the same location for over 4 decades consistently providing over 90% of the veggies consumed by my family. I use cover crops in rotations including fall/winter cover crops as well as spring/summer cover crops.

I might add I also make extensive use of companion plants, trap plants, repellant plants, and pollinator attractors.


Yes, when necessary, I use drop cloths on some raised rows and sometimes move HK containers to protection. Its winter here currently and I have tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels, onions, potatoes, carrots, radishes, turnips, etc. going strong. Winter cover crop currently includes turnips, radishes, cereal rye, clover and others and I do not provide any projection to those.

Yes, but only what I source from my land...with very few exceptions e.g. fish emulsion. My principal soil additive is well composted cow manure which I source from my own cows/hay.


Of course, your climate is the primary influencer on year-round growing, but I'm convinced that nutrient dense soil amended by heavy use of organic materials provides a significant buffering effect to the ravages of climate... cold or hot, wet or dry...not to mention healthy, nutrient dense, outstanding tasting veggies.


That's my approach and it works for me...others have their own individual approaches, and I do believe you have to find what works for you in your situation.

Again, welcome and good gardening!!

Thank you for sharing your wealth of experience—I have so much respect for your dedication and knowledge! As a novice gardener, I simply enjoy the joy of planting and watching fruits and veggies grow in my small raised bed garden. I also have a couple of potted plants since my backyard space is quite limited.

Your insights are incredibly inspiring, and I’m excited to learn more from you and others here. I appreciate the kind introduction!

 

[Meadowlark]

Your kind words are much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[pepper2.0]

"Rebellious" .. I'm an angel yet to earn my wings , lmao @Meadowlark

Welcome to the forum @Green Myrnz !

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Some of my plants like strawberries and snow peas only last for a season,

There are perpetual varieties of strawberries now, I grow one called 'Malling Champion'. Malling is the village near here with a research station, the 'M' series of apple rootstocks were developed there. I don't know if it would be good for your climate, but I bet there is one that is, and could extend your strawberry season greatly. Have a look through your local seed and plant catalogue, 'perpetual strawberry'.

 

[nvidura]

For me, adding compost regularly and rotating crops keeping my raised beds thriving all year-round...

 

[PGB1]

How do you keep your raised beds thriving through the weather changes? Do you rotate crops, protect plants from the cold, or add anything special to the soil?

Hi Green Myrnz,

I have some raided planters on legs and I also grow things in a stacked series of rain gutters that hang from a fence. For those in winter, I run over the fallen maple leaves with the lawnmower until they are tiny bits. I lay the bits over the soil in those containers to about 1/2" deep. They stay wet or frozen all winter, so they don't blow away.

If you've no leaves; packing paper & cardboard work and chop nicely with the mower, but you need a whole lot of it. And, you need to make sure any tape is gone and any ink is non toxic.

In spring, I usually mix the leaf bits in the containers or the other in-ground gardens. We have clay, so the more I mix into stuff, the better.

I don't purposefully plant in winter due to the cold in Michigan, but the dill pops up right through the leaf bits as soon as there is a warm week.

Paul

 

[Green Myrnz]

Thanks for sharing your gardening tips, Paul! I love how you use shredded leaves to protect your soil in winter—such a smart and natural way to enrich it. I will surely try it in winter here. The idea of using cardboard or packing paper as an alternative is great, especially with the reminder about non-toxic ink and removing tape.

It’s amazing how your dill pops up so early . I can relate to working with clay soil—adding organic matter makes such a difference.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

 

[Green Myrnz]

For me, adding compost regularly and rotating crops keeping my raised beds thriving all year-round...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, nvidura! One compost I’ve found that works really well here is chicken manure. It has a strong smell at first, but once mixed into the soil, it does wonders for plant growth.

 

[Green Myrnz]

There are perpetual varieties of strawberries now, I grow one called 'Malling Champion'. Malling is the village near here with a research station, the 'M' series of apple rootstocks were developed there. I don't know if it would be good for your climate, but I bet there is one that is, and could extend your strawberry season greatly. Have a look through your local seed and plant catalogue, 'perpetual strawberry'.

Malling strawberries kind of look like San Andreas strawberries here, which came from California. Fun fact: Did you know that strawberries are grown all year round in Australia?

 

[Green Myrnz]

"Rebellious" .. I'm an angel yet to earn my wings , lmao @Meadowlark

Welcome to the forum @Green Myrnz !

Thanks for your warm welcome, pepper2.0! I am also a novice in terms of gardening. I really enjoy planting seeds, watching the plants grow, seeing them bear fruit, and finally harvesting the rewards.

 

[Green Myrnz]

Your kind words are much appreciated. Thank you.

You're most welcome