Your raised beds have been working hard all spring, summer and autumn. They’ve hosted vibrant flowers, scrumptious salads and delicious vegetables. As we head into the colder months, it’s time to make sure you look after your raised beds in winter, to make sure they’re up to the task again next year.
Clear your raised beds for winter
You’ll be busy clearing your garden this winter, but make sure not to neglect your raised beds. Armed with your trusty trowel, gardening gloves and fork, it’s time to clear the beds from the year that has been. Take out dead plants, pull up every weed you can find, and remove any debris that has made its way into the bed.
All the healthy plant matter you remove can be added to your compost heap. But make sure to remove any diseased plants, so that they don’t risk contaminating the compost pile. If you have had cases of diseased plants in your beds, this may be a good opportunity to wash or disinfect the bed frames as well.
Look after your soil in winter
Once you’ve cleared the raised bed, it’s time to turn your attention to soil health. Add compost, manure or well-rotted organic matter to the bed, to add nutrients to the soil. Once these have been added, remember to mulch over the top. This will help insulate the soil, and also discourage weeds from taking advantage of all the nutrients you’ve just added. You can mulch using straw, leaves, wood chips or bark – whatever is closest to hand.
Some gardeners like to plant cover crops to overwinter raised beds. These include nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as clover, vetch and winter field beans, which can improve soil health by adding nitrogen back into the soil. Oats can be planted as companions to legumes, and when they die off after several frosts, can be left as mulching cover. Other cover crops include rye and winter wheat, which have roots that improve soil structure by breaking up compacted soil. Brassicas such as mustards and radishes are fast growing, and help to suppress soil-born fungi.
You can consider cover crops for your raised bed, and see what works for you. As well as improving soil health and structure, they will protect the soil from the elements, and leave your raised bed looking a bit less bare over the winter.
Overwintering crops in your raised beds
You’ll have removed any crops by now that won’t survive the frosts outside. But there are cold-hardy vegetables that you can continue to grow throughout the winter.
Consider crops such as garlic and carrots, and leaves such as spinach and kale. These plants will need to be sown earlier in the year, but will manage through the winter outside, and be ready to adorn your plate when other crops are scarce. Kale even improves in taste when exposed to frost.
For other crops, you can consider cover, to protect them from the harshest bite of winter. Row covers and cloches can be added to your raised bed, to protect your plants from the elements. Remember that ventilation can be an issue with some covering options, so be ready to keep an eye on your covered plants through the winter.
How to protect raised beds in winter
This is the right moment to check the structure of your raised beds, and check for rot, rust and any damage to wooden or metal frames.
Our Rhino range of coated aluminium raised beds have been designed to reduce the need for maintenance, and are guaranteed for 25 years. But if you’re working with wooden sleepers or metals that are prone to rust, it’s important to look over them and address any issues. You’ll need to apply protective sealants to wood before winter damp sets in, and make any repairs needed.
Remember that water expands when it freezes, so sealing holes that could lead to cracking is important. If you have an irrigation system for your raised bed, remember to drain and clean it before the winter frosts arrive, to make sure it’s not damaged for next year’s use.
Preventing pests and diseases in your raised beds
When clearing, cleaning and repairing your raised bed, take extra care to remove potential hiding spots for pests. Fill in any holes and take time to double check that you’re not housing little critters that will be ready to feast on your crops next year before you get the chance to! If you have struggled with pests in your raised beds, you might want to consider companion planting next year, which involves planting flowers that deter pests near your crops.
If you’ve had issues with plant diseases this year, take some time to research them and take the recommended actions to address them. Some plant diseases will be cleared off by the winter cold, but others stay in the soil and can spread to new plants in the spring. When you plan your planting for next year, it can be a good idea to rotate planting areas, so that diseases that are plant-specific don’t persist in the same areas.
Look ahead to spring
While winter is quieter in the garden, we certainly don’t need to forget about the joy our gardens bring us. This is the perfect time of year to curl up with a cup of tea in front of the wood burner, and map out your plans for your raised beds next year.
Which crops thrived in your raised beds this year? Which do you want more of, and which weren’t quite what you had hoped for? Are there new crops you’ve been wanting to try? Take inspiration from neighbours and friends, and even from some famous gardens, such as National Trust properties, Kew or other maintained gardens. From delicious crops to beautiful flowers, there is so much joy to be had from gardening in your raised bed, so take the time to dream and plan ahead while the winter cold is here.