Too cold to put my new MM into my raised beds?? and Facebook SFG site

danieggert wrote:It is still cold here in the Chicago and I will not be planting until mid-May.  Is it okay to let the mixed MM just sit in the beds for two months?  Or should I mix and store somewhere?  I need my garage so I can't use as a Mel's Mix mixing room, keeping the big 3 separate until it warms up and I can mix right in the beds.

You can add the MM to the raised beds and let it get settled in. The longer it sits before planting, the better it is for the plants -- it gives the microbial life time to start breaking down the compost to create plant available nutrients.

danieggert wrote:Can I put my MM into my empty garden next week, do I need to cover it with anything, or just leave open to nature?   I won't be able to plant for another two months.

 I am very close to Chicago and we may still get more snow (yuk -too late in the season)  Also I live just across the street from a large open wooded area.   Lots of critters around.  Does that make a difference? 

 I would like to get it in and settle after spring rain to see if I need to add more to bring up to the  6.5 inches.

Yes, you can add the MM now, or as soon as you have time. You don't need to cover it, but if you have a light mulch such as straw if you prefer. Any mulch added now would need to be removed in time for the sun to warm the soil before planting.  Snow or rain is a good thing in order to keep the MM moist and live with microbes.  It is a good idea to give it time to settle before planting.

Not sure what critters you have coming into your yard from the woods. raccoons and skunks are the most damaging to gardens, but they will have little to no interest in beds that have not yet been planted.

When I put the first raised be in gophers dug up from the ground into the bed and completely destroyed the root zone of the vegetables. I had to take all of the soil out of the bed, place 1/2" hardware cloth under it, and then re-fill the bed. All subsequent beds had hardware cloth laid down before the bed was filled and have not had any more problem with gophers or voles.  Also, we have a lot of deer that wander through our property, and I had to put up fencing to keep them out of the gardens. So, it depends on the types of critters you will be dealing with.