Why wait until spring? In autumn, when the beds have been cleared, the ground is easily accessible for various improvement measures. During the winter, the time factor can do its part and transform the bed into a fertile area.
How to improve garden soil in autumn?
To improve the garden soil in autumn, you can apply compost, horse manure, leaves or green manure to the cleared beds. These slow-release fertilizers support soil fertility and are decomposed by soil organisms until spring.
The four options
Long-term fertilizers are ideal for improving the soil in autumn, as they are broken down into their components by soil organisms in time for spring. This makes their nutrients available to the plants. These four long-term fertilizers have proven themselves useful for autumn fertilization:
- Compost
- Horse manure
- Leaves
- Green manure
Compost
First harvest all of the vegetables you have grown and then remove all parts of the plant from the bed. Spread compost about six months old on empty beds. It should just be grossly rotten. Three liters are enough per square meter.
Work the compost only lightly into the soil so that enough oxygen can still penetrate it. Only then can the worms and other organisms living in the soil decompose it. Otherwise the putrefactive process will begin.
Horse manure
Horse manure is similar to compost. It serves as food for the microorganisms in the soil. After converting into humus, its nutrients are available to plants. Since its nitrogen content is high, it is suitable for areas where heavy feeders will be grown the following year.
The horse manure is only spread over the beds, but not worked into the soil. The more straw is added, the slower the rotting process will be.
Tip
If you get fresh manure from the horse farm, it should be an organic farm. This way you can be sure that the horse manure is not contaminated with medication residues.
Leaves
Where do the autumn leaves go? On to the beds with it! During the winter it insulates and warms the ground and is gradually decomposed. But you can't fertilize the garden soil with every leaf. Firstly, it should come from he althy trees. On the other hand, not all tree species are equally suitable. Walnut leaves, for example, decompose very slowly and make the soil acidic.
Green manure
Sow cleared beds immediately with a green manure that can use the last sunny days of the year for germination and growth. Good green manures are legumes, which also loosen the soil with their roots. But spelled, lamb's lettuce and many other plants are also suitable as green manure. Take a look around in the garden center (€13.00 at Amazon) or online shop.
Green manures that are not hardy freeze with the first frost. Other fertilizers are mowed off before flowering. Both remain on the bed as a natural mulch layer.
