Raised bed for veg but what to do in winter?

[hillbilly]

I'm going to build a raised bed along our fence and it will be approximately 8' x 2' and will be used for veg in the summer. Any ideas what I can do with it in the winter because if it left as just soil all the local cats will crap in it and also I'd like it to look nice too. We have a city garden which is mostly paved with pots, so everything is on view all of the time.

How about growing veg that lasts over winter too? Leeks and kale are easy and carry on feeding you until the following spring. If you leave the kale in the ground, it goes on to produce spears that are similar to purple sprouting broccoli well into the following year. It also looks good. Cabbages also last well, and swiss chard carries on over winter if you're in a sheltered spot and it doesn't get too much frost, and looks gorgeous. You can also plant broad beans and garlic in autumn to get a head start for spring.

Alternatively, since it's reasonably narrow, build a cover to put over the bed for the winter and stand pots on it. Try winter pansies, grasses, cordylines, ornamental evergreen shrubs (bay, box, euonymus, choisya, winter box).

My ridiculously optimistic plan is to fill my raised beds with Aquadulce broad beans in November, which will germinate perfectly, grow slightly through our no doubt mild winter, then flourish into spring, giving me a perfect crop by the end of April, just before I want to plant my regular vegetables. The reality is that I will dig under some pathetic dead seedlings in January and tell myself that at least they added some nitrogen to the soil.

I grew oriental spinach last autumn and I am still harvesting. The stalks are too chewy and need trimming off but despite hard and prolonged frosts it keeps on producing. Garlic and onions have also done very well.

If you want to leave the bed bare over winter, you can cover with some black permeable membrane, weighed down by some bricks or stones. And maybe lay some spiky branches on top. This should keep the sodding cats away, help to keep weeds down and will help with warming up the soil in spring. I take my anti-cat netting off as heavy snow will rip it.

Thanks guys - covering it in the winter is a great idea if my more ambitious plan of winter veg doesn't happen ;-)