Roots in Raised Bed

 

I've been doing SFG in raised beds for a couple of years now, and
there is now an accumulation of left over roots in the beds from past
plantings.  I imagine they compost at some time, but do they compost
quickly in the beds?  Is it OK to leave the old roots in the beds or
are they going to hinder roots/plants of future plantings?

Thanks.

 

Mike wrote:

The old roots will be fine.  They will break down, worms will eat them etc,
pull out any that are obvious before you replant but generally don't worry.

Who or what is SFG?

David

 



My guess is "Square Foot Gardening" seems to go with raised beds.

I have found too many roots causes the soil to be too light. Taller
heavier plants may fall over and uproot themselves (like tomatoes). Some
plants just love the lighter soil (like celery). Could add the lighter
soil to the compost pile and put in the older compost in the beds. This
may help in recharging (if thats the right word) the nutrients to the
lighter soil.

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

 

Why don't you just pull them out?  Aren't you amending the beds each new
year with compost, new organic matter and amendments?  I would think you
would need to dig the new amendments in and the old roots would be in the
way. In an organic bed, the organic material is consumed by natural
biodiversity, so new material should be added.  This isn't rocket surgery.

 



Yeah, well, that may be what you think, but some of us think that you
destroy soil structure and reduce humus in the soil when you dig or
rototill.

- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html