Don’t Plant Just Yet – 7 Early March Jobs to Replenish Your Raised Garden Beds in Time for Spring

Early spring is the moment we all start to turn our attention to the growing season ahead, and it’s the perfect time to prepare your raised garden beds for planting.

Vegetables are heavy feeders and soil will be depleted after a year of cropping, but a little work now will set your raised garden beds up for another year of strong growth – whether you’re planning to sow seeds directly or plant out young seedlings. From refreshing the soil with fresh compost to checking the bed itself is structurally sound (you might want to swap a rotting wooden one for something like this galvanized steel raised garden bed from Amazon, for example), there's a lot to do before getting any plants in.

Here, I talk through seven important raised garden bed jobs to do in March so you can be sure your plants have a secure, nutrient-rich home to thrive in this spring.

7 Raised Garden Bed Jobs To Do in March

Well-prepared raised beds mean healthier plants and a more productive harvest.

Now is the ideal time to clear, enrich, and condition the soil so it’s ready to support the season ahead. Here are seven jobs to get them ready.

1. Check the Infrastructure

The first thing to do is check your raised garden bed is in fit condition for another year of growing.

You should check the fencing around your raised bed patch, looking for spots where destructive pests and invaders might try to sneak in to feast on your crop.

Likewise, if your beds are constructed from wood, check for rot, especially around the base and the corners. You don’t want your beds collapsing when they are packed full of plants, so now is a good moment to undertake maintenance tasks.

Products like this wooden garden box sealer on Amazon can help reduce the likelihood of such damage from wet conditions.

Alternatively, make a switch to a galvanized steel raised garden bed (like this gorgeous green one from Amazon) which is much more durable than wood.

2. Clear Any Debris

You should now turn your attention to old crop and plant debris, removing it using your hands or a hand fork (like this garden fork from Burpee).

Put all the spent matter into a garden waste bag or wheelbarrow, putting aside anything suitable for your compost bin – take care to avoid any weeds and other materials you should never compost.

Be sure to also leave the existing established perennials, such as strawberries and asparagus, as well as brassica greens that are still producing, and fall-planted crops like garlic.

In these areas, just get rid any weeds surrounding the plants, which you may find is easier with a hand weeding tool (like this Fiskars one available on Amazon).

3. Inspect Irrigation Systems

If you have drip irrigation lines (like this drip irrigation kit on Amazon) or watering systems to keep your raised garden bed hydrated, now is a good time to ensure they're in fit condition.

Carefully look for cracks or punctures, and flush them out to ensure they're flowing correctly.

If needed, use a drip irrigation repair kit (you get handy ones like this on Amazon) to ensure this year's plants will have a reliable source of water.

You should now keep it to the side so you can work with the soil properly, returning it to its place after completing this list of jobs.

4. Loosen the Soil

The next step is using a wide-pronged garden fork to dig over the top layer of the soil in your raised garden bed to loosen it. and aerate it.

Be careful not to dig too deep, just work the top 3-4 inches.

Take this opportunity to check the dug-over soil for weed roots lurking beneath the surface and be sure to remove all traces of them to prevent regrowth.

5. Apply Fresh Compost

Once the soil is looking refreshed, take a look at the soil health and quality. It’s likely that a handful of soil will feel compacted or lacking in organic matter – a sign that its time to replenish with compost.

Adding a top dressing improves soil structure and nutrient content, supporting healthy microbial life. Plus, it replenishes the soil volume where harvesting and weeding may have reduced it.

You can use your own homemade compost or bagged compost from a garden retailer (you can even buy multipurpose compost from Walmart).

Add 2-3 inches on top of the existing soil – more if your soil levels are depleted. If you’re using homemade compost, it should be fully broken down, with no visible plant matter or viable weed seeds.

Use a garden hoe (like this from Amazon) to mix the compost layer with the bed beneath so that the nutrients can start to work into the soil.

6. Add Organic Soil Amendments

If you're planning a kitchen garden full of super-hungry vegetables such as squashes, you may like to add a handful of dried seaweed or organic chicken manure pellets (available at Walmart) to give an extra boost of nutrients and maximize yield.

Another organic fertilizer to consider (and an alternative to compost) is farm manure – it's advisable to buy this already bagged as it will be well rotted down and ready to put on your beds.

You should avoid fresh manure, which can damage plants with its high nitrogen and ammonia levels.

Whichever organic fertilizers you use, mix them in well to your compost and soil.

7. Don't Forget the Mulch

The last thing to do to get your raised garden beds ready is top them with mulch.

This might be bark, woodchip, straw or pine-needle mulch. Whatever the case, adding this final layer will act as a protective shield which maximizes soil moisture and prevents the compost from drying out.

During the warm season, the mulch layer also keeps the soil cool, protecting essential microbes and suppressing weeds.

When it comes to sowing seeds or planting out, just part a narrow channel in the mulch to allow the emerging plants space to grow.

If you choose to use woodchip as a mulch (which you can purchase on Amazon), be sure to just layer it on top – digging in fresh woodchip will deprive the soil of nitrogen. The top layer of woodchip will decompose over time at soil level, providing plenty of nutrients and boosting soil health.

FAQs

How Long Can You Reuse Raised Garden Bed Soil For?

You can keep reusing raised garden bed soil every year, so long as you aerate it and refresh it with fresh compost to replenish volume and nutrients. If any of your plants previously experienced a soil-borne disease, it's best to change out the soil entirely to prevent spreading.

With the groundwork done, your raised beds will be primed and ready for planting as soon as conditions allow. When those first shoots push through the soil, you’ll be glad you took the time to prepare properly, setting the stage for a healthy, abundant harvest.

And if you're unsure what to plant here this year, our guide to plants that actually grow better in raised beds might inspire you.

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