What do I do now?

[BlackThumb]

I finally harvested all of my spinach and turnips from tthe raised beds. They were planted at one end of a 16' bed. The other halves have peas, leeks, carrots and peppers. I want to replant the empty half as soon as I can, not sure with what, maybe pumpkins. Anyway, what do I need to do to the soil to get it ready? The bed was layered, topped with finely shreded compost-slash-soil-slash-little pieces of wood (from a bag). When I pulled up the turnips and spinach, large areas of superficial roots came up as well, with a whole lot of that soil mix as well. I shook it off back in the bed. There are still a lot of roots in a webbed mat on the surface.

These are my first raised beds, and they are not very deep. Maybe 5" above a layer of cardboard.

What can I do to prepare them for the next season of planting? I am sure I need to add compost, but is that it? How long do I need to wait to plant again?

Thanks in advance.

 

[curly_kate]

If there's room, I'd just go ahead & plant the pumpkins. The soil should be pretty well broken up from the previous veggies. You could add a little more compost to boost the nutrients in the soil. Personally, I'd rather get something else in the garden instead of having bare space that's just going to get weedy. But this is all just what I would do, not an "expert opinion."

 

[aquarose]

I would do exactly what curly kate said to do.

 

[astevn816]

If there's room, I'd just go ahead & plant the pumpkins. The soil should be pretty well broken up from the previous veggies. You could add a little more compost to boost the nutrients in the soil. Personally, I'd rather get something else in the garden instead of having bare space that's just going to get weedy. But this is all just what I would do, not an "expert opinion."

I think going ahead and planting would be the right thing to do

 

[journey11]

I don't think you'll need to add much right now, maybe another bag of composted manure or something already well broken down if you feel you need it or a little 10-10-10. It depends on what you want to grow next. Some things are heavy feeders, like corn. But I think your pumpkins and most other things will be fine to go right in. I'm getting ready to plant another round of carrots and beets where I've just taken out some spinach, lettuce, and turnips. I'd go ahead and plant something either way. Make use of that valuable space!