Tucking in Garden Beds for Winter

It is now December and most of the garden beds are in a state of dormancy.  I still have brussel sprouts and cabbages out in a couple of the beds, but I will need to harvest those before too long.  I am just waiting to see how much room I have left in the freezer after I get the half a pig I have been working all summer for.  In the mean time they can hang out in the garden as they don't seem to mind the cold weather at all.  I also have a bed of lettuce and spinach that are covered by a low hoop tunnel that also seem quite happy despite the freezing nights here.

The other beds are all in different stages of getting ready for spring.  Since the temps have still been decent during the day, I have been working on preparing the beds for next spring as best I can.  Preparing the beds usually involves removing the crop residue from the previous crops and then spading the beds to remove as many weeds as possible.  I made the mistake of mulching with hay this spring, and most of my beds have some very vigorus clover and plantains taking them over.  I hope that by digging them all out, I can get a head start on next years weed control.  The next step after turning the beds over is to add organic matter to the beds.  Right now I don't have any access to horse manure like I did in the spring, but I have plenty of full bags of leaves to mulch into my garden beds.  I spread a thick layer of leaves over each spaded bed, then use a hoe to thoroughly mix the soil and the leaves in the bed.  The leaves will decompose over the winter and help to fluff up the soil for spring crops.  Once the leaves are mixed in well, I level the bed and then cover it again with another thick layer of leaves.  This cover layer will help hold any moisture in the soil and protect the surface soils from blowing away in the windy, dry winter here.

I still have at least four main beds left to turn over and mulch, but if they have to wait until spring it isn't a big deal.  The three beds should be enough for me to start my early spring crops in, so I am happy that most of the prep work is finished.  Planting days will hopefully be as simple as pulling back the mulch and tucking in some seeds.  Until then, these beds will simply spend the winter digesting their fallen leaves and making more soil.