It’s a race to beat the winter weather for us that’s for sure. I also have a bed or two that I just pile high with straw, and leaves and stuff.
About a month before spring planting time, I work it all in, if it hasn’t decomposed enough.
Now the other day, I was reading about raising watermelons. They advised putting down several layers of newspaper in the spring, and at least 3 inches of mulch such as straw.
Then poke a hole in the newspaper to transplant into the soil. Supposed to help keep disease down and help with water retention during our dry months.
We grew picnic watermelons this year on a trellis. The trellis wasn’t high enough and those suckers took off like crazy! They wouldn’t cooperate and stay in the pretty little raised garden bed. I had vines all over the yard despite my daily attempt to control them. LOL! They sure tasted good but there weren’t near enough of them for the space they consumed.