posted 16 hours ago
Then I started burying it in dirt, with a few layers of dark, crumbly (and rather heavy!) composted goat bedding mixed in to help jumpstart the decomposition process. The little bits of straw and in it also "stuck" better than straight dirt. I then mulched over everything with the less composted goat bedding, and topped it off with a mixture of garden debris (spent cucumber, melon, potato and squash vines, amaranth and lambsquarter stalks, carrot tops, etc). I may add more debris whenever it finally frosts, and perhaps a few branches for good measure.
My kids sort of fluttered in and out of this project, but some pitched in a little on the ever-expanding trench. That nifty digging tool came in handy... about 1.5-2' down was an ancient creek bed with river stones... 😬 in other news, I now have a nice pile of rocks on the side.
However, my little photographers were with the grandparents when I needed a photographer for a size comparison photo, so I just got one next to my 5' shovel.
I put some of the strawberry plants back into the mound and the raised bed nearby, since they were just sitting out with their poor naked roots. But... was I supposed to photograph each of the plants before I planted them??? I hope I don't have to rip them all back out. 😅 Maybe I can count how many actually take/survive come spring, or circle them in a photo.
I already have some comfrey and sunchokes that I can divide. I will need to order the grains and might choose a clover that grows as an annual in my climate... I also have lots of legumes I'm saving seed from, so I might see if it's possible to meet the requirements from those alone.
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