Wednesday, October 30, 2013

iuncg mulch timetable?

i went out to the garden after work to try to get a handle on mulching around the beds...the bed that the iun police had this past season has died back enough that it should be okay to mulch the garlic that has been planted there...research informs me that 1.) strawberries need to be hardened to colder temperatures before mulching, and, 2.) they should be mulched before temperatures drop below 20 degrees fahrenheit because temperatures below that can damage exposed crowns...the strawberries are obviously still robust in the current climate and low temperatures forecast for the next week aren't even close to 20 degrees...and it is supposed to be rainy off and on as well...so i' thinking we should probably delay mulching for a bit...say november seventh perhaps...the garlic is in the ground and in no danger so we can do it all in one shot about a week-and-a-half from now...hairy vetch is still blooming..it will overwinter and resume growth in spring along with the winter rye...the yellow peas have begun to die back in earnest and we will be harvesting more pods over the next few weeks to add to our pile of saved seeds while the clover seems to be fine for now...this project has done well for us and it is certainly a process i am interested in expanding into as many beds as possible and plan to grow a bed out back specifically of this mix in the spring to generate seed for an expansion...fall is advancing in the iuncg but we aren't done for 2013 yet...you can still see some green ( the winter wheat in the end of the sweet corn bed for instance ) and there's still stuff to do...more on mulching as it transpires.

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