Enriching your garden soil with fresh manure or compost in the winter will greatly enhance the growth of your flowers and vegetables in the Spring. With the harsh winter snows we have here in Colorado (4-5 feet deep snow over my garden beds), I find that a 4-6 inch layer of fresh manure on top of my soil will decompose during the winter, providing a thick layer of mulch by springtime to reduce weeds in my garden next summer.ย In warmer climates, such as zone 6-8, you may want to cover your beds with a layer ofย clover, pea, vetch, rye, or oats plants which will keep the weeds down over winter and help to maintain soil nutrients and hydration over the winter.ย
To properly prepare your garden beds, you should remove all weeds and dead plants from your summer growing season, prune perennials and work manure or compost into your soil.ย If your plants are disease free, you can also work them into your soil to provide additional organic matter which will improve your overall soil health.ย Working sphagnum peat moss into your soil is an excellent way to break up hard, clay soil. It provides aeration and increases the water and nutrient intake of your soilย If fresh manure is mixed and layered over your soil in the fall, it also will break down over the winter months to provide plenty of nitrogen rich plant food for your spring vegetables.
