Tuck In Those Raised Beds

This picture, of one of our raised bed gardens, is from this past spring. A wonderful shot of nice, luscious, sweet strawberry plants. We got quite a few berries out of this bed.

But, that is not the reason for this post, no sir. Rather, as part of the homestead routine, part of the sustainability picture, part of the survival scene, you have to put your beds to, well, bed. In order to preserve the harvest for next season, it is important to tuck those strawberry plants in. Otherwise, the frost will get them and you can kiss your strawberries goodbye.

This is one of the greatest benefits of growing your food in a raised bed. Not to mention that you don't have to vibrate your arms out of their sockets with a tiller. But the fact that the confined area is much easier to manage, on so many levels is what drives us to make more.

So, in this instance, we took some old straw and piled it on, fairly deep, to put the beds to bed. You can use anything you wish, really. Old newspapers work well. Or leaves from the fall shedding or other organic material. Not only are you protecting your future, but you are amending the soil at the same time. This is controlability in the purest. Soil needs things put back, so it is important to put back what you take out. So, put your beds to bed.