How to Prepare Your Soil for Next Year’s Garden

Backyard vegetable gardening requires gardeners to prepare for next year’s crops, literally starting from the ground up. The growing season may be coming to an end, but your job as a gardener is far from over. Today, I’m sharing gardening tips on how important garden soil preparation is. We are all aware that a plant’s success begins with the quality of the soil in which it is planted.

Follow these self-sustaining methods to ensure a healthier garden next year:

Tidy Things Up

Clear out dying plant, pesky weeds, and other debris. Uproot vegetables to rid the soil of lingering insects that might be nesting in them. Often times they will lay their eggs in the vines on the surface. If left to rot, the eggs can easily survive through winter and cause issues upon hatching in spring. For composting, it’s okay to save some plants and twigs as long as you’re confident they aren’t hosting any diseases. They make great additions to your compost heap and pass on nutrients to future crops.

Consider Planting a Cover Crop

If you’re like most gardeners, you might long for fresh dirt under your fingernails and a spade in hand. Instead of daydreaming about the first buds of spring, why not create your own hardy winter garden? Be sure to choose plants that root themselves deeply such as Crimson Clover or Winter Rye. Once spring arrives, it’s important to cut these plants short and incorporate them into the soil to halt growth. Allow approximately three weeks for your winter garden to decompose before planting new crops.

Add Plenty of Nutrients

Whether your soil will be vacant for the time being or not, it still requires a bit of care. Look to your compost heap, or even freshly fallen leaves, for all your soil prepping needs. Be sure to dig deep when mixing compost into raised beds for optimal decomposing. Don’t have any compost? No need to fret! Head over to your local supermarket or hardware store to purchase natural fertilizers and/or manure. If you’re in a time crunch consider ordering online from reputable sources, like Nature Safe, for your garden needs. Top off your soil with store-bought mulch or make your own with shredded dry leaves.

By following these steps, you’re well on your way to starting next year’s garden on the right foot. Garden soil preparation is key. So, begin these projects immediately after your final harvest for the best results. Thank yourself for it later when you’re reaping the benefits in spring.

About the writer: Emma is a freelance writer currently living in Boston, MA. She writes most often on education and business. To see more from Emma, say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2

Composting Leaves for Beginners

Today, I’m sharing gardening tips on composting leaves for beginners. Fall is a great time to start preparing garden compost for backyard vegetable gardens. Having rich soil is essential in for growing flowers and vegetables. I started composting several years ago, so I could have readily available compost for my veggies.

I started c0mposting with 2 compost bins that I use for kitchen scraps, yard cuttings, grass etc. The compost bins weren’t breaking down fast enough for me, so I started composting my neighbor’s leaves. I’m not sure that I will return to the compost bins after seeing the results of the composted leaves. I love how the leaves break down and how fast they return black gold to me. The leaves are easier to compost, and they don’t require any work unlike the compost bins.

Composting leaves is simple, just leave the leaves in lawn bags and let them do their thing. My neighbor brings me 15 – 20 bags each fall. However, there are other uses for the leaves too. For example, the top picture is a bag that I use around my garden plants as mulch. This year I created paths in the garden to keep the weeds down with them. Normally I use straw, but I didn’t purchase any this year so I had to use my leaves.

The above bag of leaves is in the mist of breaking down. You can see where the leaves are decomposing in the bag. Because I have 5 – 10 bags of black gold for the next year’s garden, the other bags can sit and decompose throughout the year. So, stop burning those leaves and find a spot for them to decompose. It’s easy!

Tips for Composting Leaves for Beginners:

1. Remove large sticks, pine cones etc. from the leaves.

2. Use inexpensive lawn bags to house them. I purchase cheap ones from the Dollar Store.

3. Crumble the leaves as much as you can before placing them in the bag. Because my neighbor gives me her leaves, I have to open the bags and crumble them myself. If you have kids let them crumble them. It gets them involved in gardening. Or, use a weed wacker to break up the leaves.

4. Wet the crumbled leaves thoroughly, seal the bag and place it in a spot where they won’t be disturbed. I use a stick and punch a few small holes in the bag so it will get water from the rain and snow during the winter months.

The picture below is a bag of leaves that have completely broken down into what gardeners call black gold. Every gardener wishes for black gold. This bag is beautiful and full of worms. It took a few years for the leaves to break down to this state, but it is so worth it. The compost in the bins isn’t close to being this rich. I must say that I have not given the bins the attention that they require.

Compost bins must be heated up by using a certain amount of greens and browns, such as cuttings from the lawn, leaves, kitchen scrapes, newspaper, etc. It also requires water and turning. My bags of leaves just require storage space, and nature does its thing. I hide my bags behind one of my storage buildings. The longer you leave them, the more they break down. I love composting tips for beginners that are easy. I thought you would feel the same.

Composted leaves will enrich your soil and help produce beautiful flowers and vegetables. You can either till it into the garden or place a scoop into the hole before adding your plant. I also add a scoop around the base of my plants. Simply use a small hand trowel to place the compost around the plant. Most importantly, the compost is organic and it’s free.

So, once the leaves have been raked and bagged it’s time to do fall lawn care. Fall lawn care should include aerating the soil, fertilizing, over seeding and continuing weed control. Aerating the soil is important, especially if you intend to overseed your lawn. Aeration allows water, nutrients, and oxygen to get to the root of your lawn. As a result, it also allows seeds to touch the soil and receive water when you overseed.

Finally, fertilizing your existing lawn is a step you should take in the fall. The moisture on the lawn in the morning helps to absorb the fertilizer. The fertilizer in turn, helps with the roots of the lawn. Additionally, strong roots will produce a lush, green lawn in the spring. We hope you found my composting leaves for beginners beneficial.