Billy wrote:
In article ,
"Thos" wrote:

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.
Yeah, well, that may be what you think, but some of us think that you
destroy soil structure and reduce humus in the soil when you dig or
rototill.

That is a completely new concept for me.

But I have soil that is less than nutritious and I work in amendments
just to loosen it up. My best soil last year gave me 2" carrots.

Leaving that aside, is there some layering in biological activity
that gets disturbed by digging? I'm just trying to wrap my mind around that.

Jeff

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.