Winter - Bring it On

I’m a garden squatter – I admit it openly.  The vacant lot next door includes a long narrow bed across the front.  The previous tenant removed all but a few of the plants, leaving a fallow space just calling out for some attention.  It was here that I planted basil this past summer.  I decided to take over the bed for next spring but first it needed amending.  My neighbor’s big pile of chopped leaves provided loads of free organic matter.  I took a Saturday afternoon to dig over the bed.  Minutes into it, I realized why the basil struggle so.  The bed was choked with tree roots from the neighbor’s large silver maple.  Every shovel load had to be cut from the ground and the roots pulled out.  They ranged in size from mats of small feeder roots to larger ones the size of coaxial cable.  The largest, running tight against the front of the slab, was three inches thick.  I proceeded by digging trench the length of the bed, then mixed chopped leaves into the bottom and into the soil before refilling the trench.  I worked from front to back.  I had to remove some small perennials along the way, and found several clumps of bulbs.  After digging the whole bed, I spread several inches of leaves over the top.  My plan is to rent a tiller in the spring and work everything in well after it has “cooked” for the winter.

I had an opportunity to see how effective my sheet composted beds turned out.  I bought some spring bulbs to plant in the bed I created last fall.  Some of the bulbs also went in the small areas I converted this spring.  The difference in the soil in the two areas was startling.  The areas that were mulched with chopped leaves were loose and crumbly.  The new spaces were still heavy with clay.  After planting all the bulbs, I added another thick layer of chopped leaves to all the beds, including the bed across the back of the house.  I even added a sprinkling to the front beds.

I practiced a partial cleanup this fall.  The small plants I chopped up where the stood and left them lying to add to the organic matter.  The taller plants I cut down and hauled to the yard waste dumpster. 

Finally, I planted four flats of native plant seeds – Jack in the Pulpit, Red Bane Berry, Lesser Solomon Seal, Rattlesnake Plantain and Wild Quinine.  The flats will winter over beneath the front steps.  From this point on, most of my outdoor energy will go into filling bird feeders and shoveling snow.