Bed Prep Guide Ready!

Willamette Valley Oregon, Zone 8b

Wondering when to get started on your beds? Soon, but we need to wait for a some specific conditions.

🌧 If working outside in the pouring rain doesn’t sound good to you, listen to that! Your garden soil doesn’t want to be worked on when it’s saturated either. It needs to drain first, otherwise you risk damaging the soil structure and harming our earthworm friends. Wait for it to be dry enough to soft and crumbly, rather than muddy.

We are expecting rain this afternoon through the weekend, but now is a good time to chop down any remaining cover crop to the soil level and leave it to rot down.

It’s also best to wait until the average air temperature is 55 degrees. This gives our native insects a chance to emerge from winter hibernation. And it’s nicer for you and me.

When you’re ready to get to work, read the rest of my Bed Prep Guide for other best practices and labor saving ideas.

Once our beds are ready, let’s see what we can plant in March.