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.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
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.