How to Prepare a Raised Garden Bed for Winter

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook puts a vegetable garden to bed for winter.

Why Not Hay? Roger Cook, This Old House landscape contractor, warns against using hay as a winter garden cover: “Hay isn’t a great solution for the garden. Number one, you have to put in about four to six inches of it to really insulate the garden. And that’s a lot of hay to be putting on top. Number two, that when you go through the hay, you’re gonna find all these little weed seeds. Now these are all going to be in your garden next spring, germinate and come up. So you’re kind of defeating your purpose by using it.”

Steps:

1. Remove all debris and dead leaves from the garden bed with a spade fork and garden rake. Use a wheelbarrow to move the debris to the compost pile.

2. Spread 2 inches of compost over the garden bed with the rake.

3. Sprinkle ground limestone over the bed to raise the pH of the soil to an acceptable level (about 6.8). Lightly work the limestone into the soil with a spade fork.

4. Spread winter rye seed over the garden bed, then rake it into the soil.

5. Water the garden bed everyday for three straight days.

6. Come spring, use a rotary tiller or spade fork to turn the rye grass into the soil.

Why Winter Rye Works: According to Roger Cook, winter rye is a type of grass that will germinate at temperatures as low as 33 degrees. It will continue to germinate throughout the fall and can withstand temperatures down to minus 40 degrees through winter. Come spring, the rye helps the garden bed dry out quicker and keeps weeds from coming up in the soil. Best of all, it’s a green manure — you simply churn it into the soil, where it improves soil quality, and you’re ready to plant your garden.

Pro Tip: Roger Cook, This Old House landscape contractor, explains the reason for adding limestone: “The soils in New England are notoriously acid. Vegetables don’t like acid soil, they like a pH of about 6.8. So what the limestone does is raise that pH up to a more acceptable level for the vegetables.” If you’re unsure of your soil’s pH, a simple soil test kit can help you determine whether limestone is needed in your area.