Preparing your garden’s vegetable beds for spring

It may still be the bleak mid-winter, but January and February are still important months in the gardening calendar to prepare for the spring months ahead. While growth above ground may appear slow, what happens in vegetable beds now can make all the difference to how successful the spring growing season will be.

With spring just weeks away, gardeners can take simple but effective steps to give their crops the best possible start. Kate Turner, Gardening Guru at Miracle-Gro, shares her top tips for preparing vegetable beds during the coldest part of the year.

All comments to be attributed to Kate Turner, Gardening Guru at Miracle-Gro:

• Keep the beds cosy: “To get an early start on sowing, you can use cloches, temporary fleece or membrane covers to trap heat. Utilising these items will protect plants from winter chills, as well as increase soil temperatures, creating better conditions for seeds and young plants to begin sprouting before spring.

If you’re feeling up for DIY, covering beds with cardboard and topping them with a thick layer of compost or mulch can have the same effect. This also helps suppress weeds, improves soil health and gently warms the ground so it’s ready for planting. If you’re short of natural mulch, you can use Levington® Composted Mulch for the same results. Meanwhile, make sure you also keep soil moist, as damp soil is better at retaining heat. This will ensure the seeds you sow now are well on their way to becoming meal-worthy veg by spring.”

• Don’t tread water…logged beds: “Ensure you steer clear of walking across any waterlogged or frozen soil over winter. Walking on frozen or drenched beds can compact the soil and undo months of natural soil-building. This is because they’re particularly fragile right now due to the winter cold.”
• Go light on weed-removal: “While many people are keen to tidy their plots, it’s best to hold off on hand-weeding. Weeds can help protect the soil surface from the cold and frost, and help retain soil moisture, which is equally important for keeping the beds warmer. However, any flower heads should be removed in milder areas to prevent unwanted self-seeding.”
• Pest protection: “The best and most efficient way of defending your beds from pests over winter is removing debris such as old plants and fallen leaves. These can serve as homes for pests and also disease over winter. Moreover, be vigilant of the vegetables you’re growing themselves, as fallen brassica leaves can similarly attract pests.”

Wooden raised beds especially are also worth a quick check, as slugs and snails often tuck themselves away in cracks and corners over winter. Removing them now can help reduce problems later in the season”.

• Veg for beds: Growing certain vegetables such as brassicas are ideal in winter conditions as they are especially resistant to cold, while most other foods are limited by the lack of heat. Brassicas can include cabbage, broccoli or sprouts, perfect ingredients for a springtime roast dinner. To ensure they flourish in beds, adding lime to the areas where they will be planted can help balance the soil and keep plants healthier.”

Meanwhile, if you’ve missed your chance in autumn, January is also a great time to grow garlic on raised beds. Growing garlic in January gives it the temporary cold period it needs for growing before warming up. Just ensure the soil is not waterlogged or frozen in the area you plant them.”

Finally, winter is still the time to go gently when it comes to gardening. The soil needs time to rest just like we all do. But by ensuring your soil and vegetables are protected from heat, not disturbed by winter boots or pests, and through some smart prep of which vegetables to grow, you’ll be reaping what you sow now all spring long!