Can I put garden waste into the raised bed now, ready for spring time?
-Ans- My preference is to compost such waste first and then add the compost to the soil later. However, there are two ways you could try what you suggest a) make an old-fashioned ‘bean trench’; in light to medium soils/ or soils that drain, dig a trench in the bed and fill with well chopped green garden and vegetable kitchen waste, mix in some soil and cover with 7-10cm soil from the next trench fill and cover… to await spring planting of beans or peas after 2-3 months. Or b) make a mulch of chopped green garden waste over the bed, say 5cm deep, for the worms to incorporate over the winter, prior to planting in spring. You may find that you need to mix in the garden waste into the top 10cm soil if your worm numbers are low or the soil in drier. Take care not to put too much on the bed otherwise it could impede seed sowing and growth, although would be OK for transplants. -Q6- We have sandy soil how can we best improve it? or … -Q7- We have loose fine light soil in a coastal area –
