Sow green manure to cover bare soil in winter
Green manure is a crop you grow for the soil, not to eat. Sow it on bare beds in early autumn and cut it down in spring, a few weeks before planting.
Soil and compost
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Make leaf mould from autumn leaves
Leaf mould is fallen leaves left to rot for a year or two. It is free, it improves any soil, and it needs only a bag or a wire cage and patience.
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Make a no-dig bed in one afternoon
A no-dig bed turns a patch of weeds into a bed you can plant the same day. You need cardboard, compost and an afternoon, not a spade.