end of season

So this is my first garden, I started it in spring and I am a little anxious about what to do next. I have a very small space and I want to make it go as far as I can and plant as much as I can. I have read in some places that you have to let the soil rest between seasons so it doesn't get drained of nutrients, but I don't want to stop planting! I have a small raised bed and lots of stuff in containers. I want to grow all year round but will all my veggies fail if I don't let the soil relax for a while?

Prettymess,

Keep 'a going!

If you've got potting mix in your containers, you can plant till the cows come home. Refresh your potting mix with some additional mix and any amendments you might need. You can grow all sorts of winter veggies like cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, greens (collards and mustards), lettuce, spinach, beets, turnips and carrots in converted Rubbermaid tubs (or drill holes for good drainage), onions and garlic, too. And winter squashes!

The sky's the limit (or the edge of your growing space!)

I asked the same question before based on the "you have to rotate" premise, and was told that, as long as you're confident you don't have any soil-based fungaluglies going on (and you'd know cause your crop would be funky), you can refresh your soil and keep going. Some folks said they'd been planting in the same spot forever (or pretty close to forever...), and never rotated anything.

Godspeed and Good Harvest!

Linda

You might be interested in this. I did it myself.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1094601/

prettymess, just fluff up the soil, add compost and organic fertilizer. Then plant whatever will grow in your neck-of-the-woods that you and your family enjoy.

It's been my experience, that as long as the soil is healthy, roating crops is not essential. Chemical fertilizers will kill microorganisms that keep soil healthy, so use them sparingly, or not at all.

Earthworms are a gardeners best friend.

Yeah, what HoneybeeNC said!

I don't add any additional fertilizers, just whatever is in the potting mix seems fine. I will buy another bag and mix it in. Also what is the best way to mulch for a veggie garden in winter? I read that leaves, or spoiled hay or straw is good. I don't know where to get hay or straw, but maybe I can look harder once it starts to get cold.

You can get hay or straw from a feed store. They may even let you have some of the left over for free. How cold does it get where you are?
My suggestion would be to grow some mixed greens (lettuce). They are very easy to care for,take up limited space and taste really good. To me there is nothing like cutting some lettuce for a meal. IMO it tastes so good it doesn't even need dressing.

Hey Ray, I honestly can't answer that question with any certainty. Straw with no seed heads would great. I have actually bought bales of oat straw that was terrible feed but great mulch. Since I use manure from my livestock I also get weeds (oats)from that too. I do lasagna gardening so the viability of the seeds isn't cooked out like regular composting. We have different hay here then I remember having in CA. I have grass (weeds) growing in all my planting beds whether I have used hay as mulch or not. My ONE real complaint about it is that it is a haven for unwanted bugs to over winter in.
Sorry, I couldn't give you a real answer.

i am trying to garden as cheaply as possible. Dublin is a bit far so I will try to find the ebstone stuff closer. I don't know what "side dress" means.

Think about starting a good worm bin. You can use an old storage container, and you pretty much give them vegetable scraps, coffee filters, paper, grass clippings, leaves, hair, and the list goes on. It is very cheap and it makes great fertilizer. If you want to save some money on fertilizer, try using green manures(cover crops) plant legumes in the spring and companion planting will definitely keep nutrients coming into the soil. Just remember the things that you eat from your vegetables are nutrients that will never make it back into the soil. I hope some of these ideas help.