It’s spring in Australia, and just cool enough now that our southern neighbors are starting their fall gardens.
Areas north have already received snow.
Here in Northeastern Pa. it’s time to put most of the garden to bed for the winter.
cardboard keeps the weeds away
There are a number of ways you can do this, this is what’s happening here.
Towards the end of the summer, we place cardboard over harvested beds to keep out any weed seeds until the frost kills them off.
If we plan on tilling a bed, which is rare, we leave the cardboard on through the winter to also keep out the spring weeds, and till in the soil amendments when the weather gets warm again.
summer's mulch and fall leaves add organic matter naturally
Between the falling autumn leaves and the straw that was used as mulch, some beds have a head start on winter. For the ones that won’t be tilled, we begin with nature.
so that's where my knife went
We add more rough compost to the beds. It will break down further over time, and can just be worked into the soil if needed before planting.
spread rough compost on top of your soil
To top this off we add a nice layer of leaves. These will also break down over time.
Just remember that some of your furry friends may decide to make a home underneath.
leaves act as mulch
You wouldn’t want to find a little bunny’s nest there…
...or something worse.
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