Do you have access to grass clippings, leaves or cardboard?
I do all of the above on beds that I'm not going to use for the winter. It helps keep down weeds and feeds the soil. Nancy

whatever will rot beyond recognition by May. When I find a bag of mostly locust leaves, which are small and soft, it goes directly on a bed. Mixtures of kitchen scraps and leaves also work.

Instead of covering the bed for the winter, how about planting in it? Lettuce, cabbage, carrots, radishes, onions. Check out this planting guide for Zones 7 and 8! You can have a garden just about all through the winter in your climate.

Catherie

Here is a link that might be useful: Fall Gardening

I grow all fall, and for lettuces, and some other plants I add tents that can be re-used every year. It costs me $10 or so to tent a 4x8 bed. I get about $150 of organic vegetables from that bed. Yes, there is some expense to that, but at least it is re-usable.
If you want a break from growing, I agree with mulching with whatever you have. My "blower" is a Leaf Hog that also sucks up leaves, chopps them into a million pieces and spits them back out. It makes gorgeous mulch!

I would think the cheapest way would be neighbors leaves but growing a ground cover and mowing it might be the next cheapest.

I have several methods for winter cover depending on the present year crop:

1. Composted leaf mulch and finely mulched leaves.
2. I have some beds with a nice crop of volunteer seedlings.
3. Some have some strawy/hayey horse manure that is lightly tilled.
4. I have 3 places with forage/tillage radishes that winter kill. One older monster is nearly 3 and a half inches in diameter and who knows how long.

I had beds that were not covered last year they were as good as my covered beds. There is some thing to be said for freeze thaw cycles of garden soil. MY covered beds? Some with leaves Some with ditch hay mixed with rabbit poo (lots of weeds but easy to control in a raised bed). All were good.

Curt

I'd plant a cover crop for green manure if straw is too expensive. Else neighbors's grass clippings IF and only IF no lawn chemicals.

Dan

My favorite is covering them with fall leaves. I noticed a big difference in the beds I covered with leaves versus the ones I left uncovered.

I live on a tree-less property, but I take my wheelbarrow/car down the block on leaf collection day and snatch up nicely bagged up leaves. You can fit at least nine bags in a RAV4 if you are creative. Yes, my neighbors think I am a little weird. But not as weird as my friend's neighbors think I am. She lives in the woods and I regularly snatch leaves after an evening out. Nothing like loading up leaves while wearing a skirt and heels and looking up to see a neighbor watching you. "Ah...Well, hello...I'm just taking some leaves...hope you don't mind..." Luckily he replied with "You must have a garden." Thank goodness he understood what I was doing!

As a side note, I watch how my neighbors care for their lawns. If they are heavy lawn chemical people, I don't take their leaves (which may have grass clippings mixed in). Also, scan the property for black walnuts and avoid those.

Good luck,
Bellatrix

Thanks so much for the great responses.

I only wish I could get leaves easily--we are in a rural farming area and not many people bag leaves around here. I never see any, actually. One of the local master gardeners goes to her daughter's neighborhood two counties closer to the city and collects leaf bags there every fall.

I could rake some leaves but what is the best way to chop them up? I don't have a push mower but my son does have a ride-on mower. Won't they blow all over if he runs over them for me?

I have planted cover crops in the past but the only thing that I know of (i'm sure there's more I just have little experience) that I can plant this late is winter rye, which was really hard to till under last spring! Any other ideas?

Re: harvesting through winter--I usually do have a little lettuce, spinach and kale that overwinter. I don't harvest them because they are just tiny until the early spring when they explode. In my area I think I would need to protect to get any real crop during winter months. Every fall I promise myself I am going to figure out how to make PVC hoops and cover a bed or two for winter greens but autumn gets so busy and I don't do it. Does anyone have a good link that shows easy and inexpensive ways to make hoophouses or cold frames?

thanks so much!

As for chop/mulching leaves with a riding mower: I mow/blow the leaves towards the center. When I get a windrow in the center, I drive backwards with the mower until the leaves are finely chopped and then I blow them into a final row ready for raking up or vacuuming if you have such.

OP, I live at the edge between rural and urban, and if I make a big pile of leaves in the garden, I am going to produce a big colony of voles that will not leave. So, a thin layer where voles or chipmunks are present is advisable, or leave the ground bare, make a big pile away from the garden, and move it in May.

You could also dig around the beds in October to discourage any critter from moving in or spending the winter. Leaving the ground bare is not a bad idea if you have clay soil and large, unbroken clods, as Curt says. For sandy soil it is not much help.