A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Seasonal preparation and sterilisation question

Hi all,

I was just out preparing my raised beds for their second growing season. Last year I installed the beds and planted in the spring, enjoyed my first garden through the fall. I let it go to the weeds (and other invasives) for the entire winter and finally got around to weeding, cleaning and preparing the garden beds for this years spring time planting fest. My 2nd year, my second ever veggie garden.
My question is about mites and things.
As I was cleaning the weeds out of my (raised) beds, I noticed a lot of (spider?) mites and other insects thriving around the perimeter of the beds, crawling around on the wooden sides mostly.
I'm going all organic and I'm not sure how to deal with the bugs before I plant. I know about using mild solutions like vinegar and all that but how do I treat my garden so that I can ensure I am not planting my brand new seedlings in a bug infested garden? Do I just spray the entire surface, turn the soil and sray again just to be sure? I want the garden to be fairly sterile before I go to any trouble planting.

Thanks for you help.

Mcstiggens

I like spiders in and around the garden just as much as Lady bugs and many other "good bugs"

I turn my soil late in the fall (after the growing season), again very very early in the spring (as soon as I can work it)and then just before spring planting to keep bad ground bugs off balance,I even grow potatoes and tomatoes in the same spot for years without problems.Some crops in some areas are a magnet for bad bugs so you stay away from those crops and they will stay away from you.:<)
I would make a list of the things that I'll be planting and then see what problems that crop may bring and keep an eye on them EVERY DAY. We're all diffrent as so are they.