You are supposed th of plant garlic in October.

In addition to planting the ground cover it never hurts to work an inch or 2 of good compost into the soil first and then plant it. Helps keep the soil micro broods fed and productive through the winter or until the ground freezes.

And depending on which ground cover you use and when you plant it you might get one mowing of it in before winter and then let that mowing compost in place.

Dave

Don't you want to grow fall/winter crops? Here in zone 6A, I'm sowing fall lettuce and kohlrabi today, winter lettuce and spinach in Sept, garlic in early October. My already sown beets, carrots, kale, collards, escaroles and up and in your zone you'd probably still be able to sow them.

I only plant spinach in the fall now. I wish I had known about that 40 years ago. Great for mid/late fall eating and an extra early spring harvest before typical time bolting sets in. I plant it by seed twice here in my Z-7, now, and again after halloween. It's tough and can handle winters to come back by March., both sets. Temps here dropped to 2F in winter and no problem for spinach, it may look dead but it'll fool ya in a good way. Just watch out for dear & rabbits if you have that problem.

IMHO, your question should be what ground cover should I plant? I've tried various ones over the years and none particuarly impressed me. Either died out at first frost, which isn't all bad, or lived though winter and had to be fought with in the spring. Where I am now is that I till the entire garden in mid Oct. when planting garlic, spread around some grass clippings, straw, whatever I have handy that won't add seeds and let it meditate all winter.

This is my first year with a raised bed and I was not planning to plant anything else in the bed after the tomatoes are done. I was wondering the same about prepping the bed. Should I till in some compost after I yank the plants out? Is it ok to leave the straw (mulch) on the bed and till that in too or should I clear that off with the old plants? Do I need to cover the bed with anything for winter? Grass clippings or more straw? Should I cover with something else so it does not become a mud pit?

Patti, your best options will depend on a few factors... What is the soil make up of the bed now? Are you able to do basic maintenance during the winter months? What size is the bed? Are there materials that you have free, or almost free access to (like do you make your own compost, do you buy the straw etc...?)

Does your ground freeze, and stay frozen all winter? Does the raised bed have walls, or is it just mounded?

Rgreen48- I have a wooden raised bed 4x8. I started with all mixed bags of raised bed soils, potting soil, peat moss, compost and some worm castings. I live in the heart of Chicago so no space for home composting. I ordered straw for my mulch from Amazon this year. It was the first year and I want to make sure I can use this bed for years. Our ground freezes and thaws all winter with lots of snow, it's all in Mother Natures hands. I can cover with leaves too if that is good there are always leaves available. I just wanted to know if I should cover the top with a tarp or just let it sit. I am new to the bed and always just did flowers in pots and l have tried veggies in pots but never have good luck.

Two more questions...

How deep is the bed? And, does it sit on top of native soil?

The make up of the bed, as it is now, is basically what's called a 'soil-less' medium. Even though raised bed and potting mixes say 'soils', few, if any, actually contain soil. They are partially decomposed forest products with varying amounts and types of fertilizer and 'grits' like perlite, vermiculite, etc... All the rest of those materials you listed are also different types of organic matter.

This is fine, but you have to treat such a circumstance like you are planting in a very large container. There is going to be a bit more bio-activity (a good thing) than in a container, but it is still something to be aware of as the material ages. And too much organic matter can present it's own set of long-term issues.

The reason I ask about the depth, and if it's on native soil, is that... if it's on soil, you should consider digging deep and mixing real soil into your mix. Sometimes, especially in urban locations, people are concerned about contaminates. If you have reason to believe it's okay, then native soil is going to help with a number of long-term growing needs. If contamination is an issue, or it's not on top of soil, consider getting some actual soil and blending it in with your current medium.

Since your beds are completely organic matter, I wouldn't suggest a cover crop this year. Instead, look into adding soil like I discussed above. Don't mix the straw into the beds, pull it aside, add the soil (or blend it by digging deep into the native soil below,) and replace the straw, and lots and lots of leaves on top as a winter mulch. If you can, do that this year after the crops are finished. Leaves are cheaper, and actually quite a bit more nutritious than straw. Straw has its place, but this isn't it for this first winter. If you can shred the leaves, that would be best (many, if not most people use a lawn mower and just run over the leaves until they are shredded up.) Don't mix the leaves in either, just use it as a very thick mulch. If you used anything as cages, or supports for your plants this past season, use those to keep the mulch from blowing away. Don't put a tarp over it, just do what you can to keep the mulch in place. A screen-like material would be ok, but you want it to breath and be exposed to the elements.

Just let the bed sleep until late winter/very early spring (depending on the crops and when you want to begin planting next season.) As soon as you get a dry window at the end of winter, pull the mulch aside and let the bed dry. This is when you may need a tarp. Turning a wet soil can be difficult, and affect the texture. Just keep it dry until it is not bone dry, nor soaking wet. You want it on the dry side of moist. Cover it during rains and snow, and keep it exposed during dry weather until it's ready to work. If you added the soil, then use a digging fork to mix some of those leaves and old straw you put aside into the soil, and cover with more leaves until you are ready to plant. Oh... and if you have space, put some of those shredded leaves in bags, cans, a pile off to the side, etc... they are very useful for many purposes in the garden. Not just the ones you used as winter mulch, but collect and shred extra in the fall.

I hope that helps. Different people have different ways to garden, and you may even have a reason for wanting all that organic matter, but in the long-term, soil makes the best foundation for a non-container. Organic matter is great, but too much can affect drainage, promote disease, and will cost you money and effort from shrinking so much through a season and constantly needing replaced.

Rgreen48 I did add some top soil in the bed when we put the bed in the yard. We dug up the area, took out the grass and put the bed in. It is 12 inches deep so we first mixed some new topsoil into the soil that was there to replace the grass and add a bit of new topsoil. I am sorry I left that part out but I do understand what you are saying. I will add some more this fall with a bit of compost before I top the bed with leaves. The hubbie has a leaf sucker that shreds the leaves so we will keep some of them. Thank you for all your help here and throughout this forum. I read a lot of things on the forum and learned from many great people who are so knowledgeable.

Unless your really south or have huge crop rotation fields. Do nothing. Crop rotation and cover crops go hand in hand for big farmers in big fields. If your in the south you could cover crop but I'd question why you can't grow something as opposed to cover cropping. Again, cover crops and or rotation is left for bigger farmers with bigger fields. And you probably wouldn't be here asking about it if that was the case.

With that said, best to wait for spring leave plant roots in, less soil erosion.

"Again, cover crops and or rotation is left for bigger farmers with bigger fields."

That's not true at all!! Small gardens are just as prone to diseases issues that prompt annual crop rotation. And ANY garden regardless of size can benefit from cover crops, aka "green manures", as they keep fall and winter weeds to a minimum as well as feeding the soil. And prevent erosion.

Not everyone wants to be active in the garden in winter or grow late season harvestable crops. Cover crops are a great alternative and far better than leaving the soil bare.

What type of cover crop would I do in Chicago in a 4 x 8 bed? I don't know if there is time for growing something after I pull my tomato plants out. They are still giving us tomatoes. They were slow to ripen this year so we are just getting the best ones now. I wont be pulling them soon. Do I have to plant something to keep the bed active? Is that the goal?