Q: When do I put on the compost?
I recently moved to the midwest (Illinois) I have raised beds in my yard for vegetables/flowers. When do I put on the compost—in the Fall when I close down the beds for the season or in the Spring?
Tags: compost, Illinois, raised beds
September 1st, 2009 at 12:44 pm
If I were you, I’d try planting a cover crop in the fall so you can benefit from the green manure it will produce. You could spread a little compost when you plant the seed (the Soil Builder Mix is really great) to help it get started, then till it under in the spring. If you don’t want to grow anything in the beds, I’d recommend putting the compost on in the spring (as long as it is fully composted material), so your seedlings can take up as much nutrients as possible right away and it will not have been leached out of the soil by fall/winter precipitation.
September 4th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I concur, copious amounts of compost in the spring before you plant.