There was a time when I would wait for all of my crops to be spent, till the garden and call it a season. Now it’s more of a piecemeal proposition.
With my garden’s size, I never have enough compost to fertilize the whole caboodle. Even starting with three bins full of waste materials, it cooks down by half or more.
I had enough compost to generously cover 4 1/2 beds, which are now a uniform 21′ x 3′. I tilled in the compost and then planted a winter cover crop mix in those beds. The rest of the beds will each get 7 to 8 gallons of fresh chicken manure before winter (I clean off the pop board every morning and store it in a covered 5 gallon bucket). Then they’ll be covered with shredded leaves.
In the piecemeal spirit, I’ve also started improving paths. It’s an uncomfortably big job to gather and spread wood chips on all of the paths at once, so I pick them off one at a time.
This year I had a big pile of willow chips from the ground-up stump of a huge willow tree that came down earlier. To keep weeds from getting a head start, I first laid down cardboard boxes or newspapers. These were actually from a stack of discarded voter guides that my wife picked up. The perfect place for politics…
…and done. Not a permanent solution, but good for a couple of years.
These chip paths just make it nicer to walk and kneel in the garden in the mornings and after rains. Here’s a path that I’d completed earlier, with the winter cover crop doing its thing…
Definitely have to pace yourself with garden work like mulching especially if the garden is large.
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So right. It’s much easier to pace when you’re retired too. Not as easy when you’re working every day.
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Some summers I have more work than others and the garden gets pretty messy looking by the season’s end. This year there was less work so the garden isn’t quite so bad.
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Haha, yes, a perfect usage of political pamphlets to be sure!
The success of my winter cover crop was impeded this year by a root nematode attack! They did a number on my crops. I have predatory nematodes ready to be unleashed though! Too bad the season is over.
So it goes.
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Wow, that stinks! But predator nematodes sounds fun. Hope they’re extra vicious for you 🙂
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I’m slowly starting the shutdown process, too. Pruned back my blackberries last weekend, and I’ll soon be starting on the broccoli, since they’re too full of aphids to make pleasant eating.
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More relaxing, like gardening should be 🙂
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Fancy walking and gardening paths .. your garden is so organised 🙂
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Well I’m glad you think so Julie. The other paths are crumbled old leaves with weeds growing through 🙂
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Know what you mean about compost, over the weekend I have emptied my compost bin for 3 new beds, fingers crossed for a good tomato crop!
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Good luck with your tomatoes! They make all the difference in a garden
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