So mulch to do...

Last Sunday...yes I'm just getting around to blogging about it today (Thurday morning just after midnight)...I had a little time to work in my garden. I haven't touched it in about four weeks other than to grab a few little ripe tomatoes occasionally and set the sprinkler so they don't dry out completely. I also haven't added any new fertilizer to the soil, other than the original Miracle Grow organic garden soil that I used when I planted the veggies back in late May. I planted a couple of cucumber plants, and only one has survived. Actually, it's climbing up the side of the fence. I wish I would have purchased a cage for it.

I really want to get on some seed catalog websites this winter and consider starting from seeds. I've never done that - well, except for the Jack in the Beanstalk green bean plant that came home from Kindergarten orientation this spring. That's actually still producing beans...and my son is pretty excited to eat the beans raw from his plant.

I barely remember what my veggies looked like last year - thank goodness for this blog that I can remember electronically. I took intense care to the garden last year, barely allowing weeds to surface, much less take deep root. But, this year, the weeds in my veggies tower over the zucchini and reach halfway up the side of the tomatoes. My green peppers and beans were buried...but I found them anyways.

I spent a good 3-4 hours on Sunday afternoon in the garden. (We took a Sabbath rest on Saturday at the lake) I weeded the completely untouched perennials that line my veggie garden - moved and split a beautiful bright pink coral bell plant, pulled amazing amounts of crab grass, foxtail, and thistle, and laid down some Preen, and several 2 cu ft bags of brown mulch. I was so proud of my work, as this is something I wanted to get done the previous year, but time constraints and choosing family priorities prevented it. I still have about 3 bags of mulch left - and most of my garden is completely covered. But, I know I will just add additional mulch to the same area after the next rain when it settles into the spots that didn't really have enough top soil. I didn't addend to the soil, as the flowers (siberian iris, and daisies) are still doing so well. Maybe next year if it continues to sink deeper. I even mulched around the rhubarb that I have in the front corner of the same section. I did NOT lay down any black fabric to cover the ground before we mulched...and perhaps I should have. But, I'm hoping that the minimum 3 inches deep mulch will just do the trick and keep me from needed to weed much in the next couple of weeks. Besides, the green peeking through is so easy to grab and tear out now - so much more visible.

I did pull most of the surface weeds from around the tomatoes and peppers, and that cute little orphaned green bean plant. I even laid down some newspaper to hopefully keep a few weeds at bay around the path between my tomatoes. Who knows if it will work. The newspaper was originally going to be shredded and go into the compost pile - as "brown" stuff we really need to blend. But, since it's biodegradable, and the inks are soy based...I thought I'd see how it does in the pathway of my veggies. I'll let you know if it works or not as a basis for mulch - not covered in mulch and not blowing away in the wind so far. The other half of the large veggie garden is still completely covered in weeds at least a foot or foot-and-a-half tall. I really need to cut down all the onions and chives before they spread again, and before insects continue to choose that area for a home.

But, oh my aching hamstrings and inner thighs from bending, swooping, and squatting to pull weeds and lay down mulch. I need to get out there and do it way more often...not only for the benefit of the garden, but for the benefit of the body as well.

P.S. - handfuls of Sweet 100's and another variety of mini tomatoes have been ripe pretty much every day. So far, only one Early Girl sits on my counter awaiting its turn to be sliced. Last night we ate 3 small zucchini from the garden, which we coated with olive oil and cooked on the grill. :) YUM!!