Time to mulch...

So...plants are pretty well established, I think it's time to start mulching. My trouble is finding the right mulch. I plan to put down newspaper first (at least between the rows). My hope is to find hay at a reasonable price that does not have any pesticides or herbicides sprayed on it. I'm not confident that I'll have a lot of luck. The city I live near offers free mulch, but it's made from grass clippings that I can only assume have herbicides on them. Another possibility for me is to raid the woods by my house for leaves, but I think it will be a lot of work to get enough of them, and I think I will need to shred them so they decompose better and don't blow around. Figuring this out is one of my jobs for the day.

Another task for today may be to harvest the first strawberries! They weren't quite ready last night when I looked, but I think today is the day. I took this photo a few days ago.

Yesterday I planted some marigolds around the garden--they keep a lot of garden pests away.

Garden Variety Spring Fever

It is officially Spring and I have serious spring fever of the "garden variety". Earlier this spring, I ordered a used copy (it is out of print), of Ruth Stout's No-Work Garden Book. I was inspired. Every year I start out excited about the garden and I can't wait to get my hands dirty, but the weeds start to get me down by about mid-June. I know people who claim to love weeding...I think they are mentally ill.

Ms. Stout claimed she never weeded--just threw down a little more mulch on top of the few weeds that would come up threw her (initially) 8 inch thick barrier of hay mulch. What's more, she said she never had to water! That essentially means I can take a vacation without having to hire someone to come and weed and water. It also means it's more ecologically responsible. Planting an organic garden is great anyway, because there's nothing more local than your own yard, but not having to water would make it even better. I'm excited to see how it works. My husband and father are doubtful, but I have a lot of hope for this year's garden. I will report the results of my experiment here.

Right now, I'm searching for the best source for inexpensive hay. Until then...