Raised beds

[Breakingpoint1961]

I have removed almost all the vegetation from them, what should I do with the soil in the winter months? I have a full compost bin at the moment, do I empty it now or let it continue to break down until the spring?

What does the compost in your bins look like? If it's brown and crumbly and fully broken down you could use it on the beds. If not leave it till spring.

You need to protect the soil in your beds over the winter so it doesn't get compacted by rain or have nutrients washed away. You can do this by planting a green manure like field beans. Let it grow till spring then pull up and incorporate into the soil.

Alternatively you could plant broad beans and garlic now to overwinter (in which case you'll definitely want to add a layer of fresh compost to feed and protect the soil)

I emptied my compost bin yesterday into my raised bed. Mostly broken down, but there was some fresher material on top so I plan to dig it into the soil today and then cover with a layer of cardboard to continue breaking down over the winter. I’ve just planted purple sprouting broccoli into my other eased bed.

Not sure the compost has broken down much, it's all since the last couple of months, is that long enough to have broken down?

I will look at field beans/garlic. I can get some lovely manure, would I need to add compost too?