Only three beds left to turn: the one straight ahead in the back, the one on the back right and the one in the front right. You may be asking yourself why the place looks like a junk yard? Well, last year, I learned that you could use newspapers as mulch between rows. Ever so much less weeding and the plants seemed pretty happy too, so the newspaper mulch is back again this year. The first time I put it down, I got up the next morning to find newspaper blown all over the place. Back to the internet I went and saw that it clearly said you had to put something on top of the newspaper to weight it down. Grass clippings served admirably (even though they do sort of stick to green beans).
The other day I was cleaning out the basement. Yes, it turns out that however liberated woman I may conceive of myself, when I have a few weeks off, as now, what do I do? Cook and clean. Ha! But in any event, I was cleaning out the basement and there were big pieces of cardboard. I thought, well, if I put the cardboard down between the boxes, that might cut down on weed growth, just like the newspapers do in the beds. So, I cut up the cardboard and took it out to the garden… Only to learn what I guess I didn’t quite finish learning last year: you need to weight this kind of thing down! It started blowing around, so Joe piled it up at the back where it awaits further inventions. Worst case I can tear it into shreds and put it with the compost.
A learning curve! Good to see raised beds. Do you mix in the used bedding from the chicken house? It's strong stuff - you need to leave it standing for at least 6 months before applying it. I always used straw for bedding so the soil gets well aerated. Gives a good mix of nitrogen and carbon I think. I hope you've got the kitchen compost well advanced too!
May 20th, 2017
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