End of the Season

Yesterday Dave and I prepared the garden for winter. We removed the fence, hoses, supports, and weed control fabric and mowed the weeds. Then we added maybe a dozen bags total of compost, humus, and manure to increase the organic content of the soil. We also added half a bag of pelleted lime (20 lbs) to raise the pH of the soil because last spring's soil test suggested that and we never got around to it before. Next, we tilled it all in, going over everything twice to mix it well, and raked a bunch of remaining weeds out with a grate pulled by a tractor. Finally we spread a bag of "Garden Blanket" over everything and watered the whole area. Garden blanket is a mix of enough crimson clover and alpowa wheat seed for a 3,000 square foot area. It's designed as a cover crop. I got it at Kingstown garden store for around $10. The clover will fix nitrogen as it grows and both clover and wheat will help aerate the ground and keep wind and rain from washing away my good topsoil over the winter. Then in spring, I'll till it all under, providing extra organic matter for the growing season. I need to read up to double check how early I need to till it under so the decaying organic matter doesn't inhibit germination, but on whole it should really help improve the soil.