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Saving Time in Spring

November 23rd, 2016

In the fall, I always mulch my flowerbeds and garden areas heavily with compost (weed free) and/or chopped leaves and grass clippings. My first goal is to protect the soil throughout the winter. It insulates the soil/plants and helps them survive the winter better. The mulch also protects the soil and nutrients in the soil from being washed away. My favorite reason to mulch heavily in the fall – weed free gardens in the spring/summer!
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In my perennial garden beds I use chopped leaves and grass clippings. In my edible garden areas I add a weed free compost I buy from Kinney Compost. I not only protects my soil in the edible garden areas, but it feeds the soil as well. In the areas I’ve added this compost for three years the health of the soil is noticeably better than in areas where I haven’t added it. My soil is extremely free draining, this layer of compost mulch helps my soil retain moisture in the summer and it adds valuable humus in order to make my soil have better structure.

What’s your favorite kind of mulch?

3 Comments to “Saving Time in Spring”
  1. Chris on November 22, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    Same here Susy, I like chopped up leaves and my own compost…I kind of layer the two. As you know the PN gets lots of rain in the fall and winter months so it’s really important here to keep those nutrients from washing away.
    I also use fir branches on some areas that I don’t want or need the looser mulch materials.
    Happy Thanksgiving! :)

    Reply to Chris's comment

  2. Nebraska Dave on November 23, 2016 at 9:27 am

    Susy, yes, leaves and grass picked up by the lawn mower is the best for mulching over the Winter. Do you remove the mulch in the Spring? The beds that I have the heavy mulch covering will take longer for the soil to warm up in the Spring. I usually wait for the soil to heat up even though it takes longer, then turn under the half rotted grass/leaf mixture for enhancing the soil texture and feeding the plant nutrients during the growing season.

    Have a great Fall mulching day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

    • Susy on November 23, 2016 at 10:55 am

      I don’t usually remove the mulch in the spring, I have one garden area that warms up faster than other other areas and I use it for planting lettuces and other early season vegetables.

      Reply to Susy's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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