Time to put it all to bed!

I know it is way too wet to even broadfork the beds this fall. time to put it all to bed and see what we have in the spring; (well, garlic needs to be planted,I'll think about really piling on stuff in that bed to lift it up so the garlic won;t rot. some spinach and arugula growing in the little greenhouse and I moved most of the big herbs in there too.)

you can use leaves. great fertilizer too. chopping them up with your mower will make them stay put better.but if you can;t add the whole leaves!

straw is great-we use it on the garlic especially. and if you use up your newspaper and cardboard on beds, straw makes it look a whole lot nicer.black plastic can go in where you really need to kill weeds. If your like us, weeds and fleas seemed go bonkers this year. don;t ask about the flea wars-let's just say the makers of Frontline and the rest are just taking your money!

Or-gasp-plants. later stuff like peas can still go in. a living cover is easy to dig in  or remove to the compost pile in the spring.and all those turnip radish spinach seeds and the like I also sprinkle under the apple trees. Make your own mulch for them!

I like to add compost  manure and lime for the spring; but it;s so wet, likely to be a snowy winter, and I think we;ll just wait.I will go out with wood ashes whenever they build up; good for the lawn too.

I like to use compost and manure ont he flower beds now; it should all be good and broken down and safe, for things like the lilies, by spring. Remember not to lime or manure your potato patch area!

next-I'll be hittin' the seed catalogs I guess!