All gardeners warned to do one thing at winter for 'perfect soil'

Gardeners are being warned that now is the time to put their “bare beds to bed” in order to get “perfect soil” when it comes to planting season.

According to expert Benedict Vanheems, gardeners want to “replace all of the nutrients” that were used by the plants growing in their beds. These are, he says, “lost” when the plants are harvested or cleared away once they die.

And leaving the bed alone will result in poor soil, he warns. This means the next set of crops will struggle to survive.

READ MORE: Roses will ‘flower bigger than ever’ by adding item to soil in winter

READ MORE: Gardeners told how 'old trousers' could protect vegetables against winter frosts

He instead suggests putting garden compost and manure onto your beds to bring them back to life next year. On the GrowVeg YouTube channel, Benedict said: “We’re not going to be planting anything for three or four months, which gives nature plenty of time to build our soil.”

Benedict suggests putting around 5cm - or 3in - of manure on top of the soil before smashing it in with the back of the pitchfork. He says spreading pure wood ash is also good to sprinkle on the soil this time of year.

However, fresh manure should only be used on bare beds, he says. Should your bed still contain a crop, he opts for garden compost as the nitrogen won’t burn the plants.

He said: “What we’re doing is mimicking nature, you rarely see bare soil in nature, it’s almost always covered and that way all the soil life from worms, to beneficial bacteria, to fungi always have something to feast on. And they in turn will improve the soil and make sure the plants have access to everything they need, including those vital nutrients.”

The keen gardener also spread leaves over his bare bed, which he says offers “free food” to help improve the patch ahead of spring. Any leaves that remain come spring can then be raked away and used as mulch.

Should gardeners find themselves without access to manure, or even a ready-to-go compost, Benedict says they can easily make their own. He used dry leaves that have fallen from trees, and then greens, such as weeds without seeds and grass clippings, he then ran a lawnmower over the grass where he made the mixture.