playing n the dirt

For me, September is about the most perfect month of the year, especially in the garden.  The weather is cooling down and most days I can work in the middle of the afternoon.  It is getting darker a little sooner.  This is good, because I feel guilty when I come inside and there is still work to do and it is light outside.

I can pretty much kick back and just pick what is ready to be picked and not worry about the weeds because in a month the frost will kill them anyway.  There will still be about a million fall leaves to deal with and the extra hot day or two and I will still have to plant the green house when all the peppers and tomatos are done.

But for now, welcome sweet September. 

So the new gardener want to know, why do you mulch?  There are many reasons, but I’ll give you my top three, in no particular order.

Mulching saves time.  When you have a good layer of mulch you can save time by not having to water as much as without mulch.  Most mulches will help retain water.  A good mulch will also save time because it will help control weeds.  No weeds, no weed pulling.

Mulching can help improve your soil.  You will need a good organic mulch, but what could be easier.  Just layer the mulch in the garden and let it do all the work.  While barks are organic they will take longer to breakdown and build up the soil verses grass, leaves or newspaper which will usually breakdown in a season.

Mulch can add to the overall beauty of the garden.  A freshly mulched garden is a beautiful site.  A more hardy mulch like bark in the sidewalk flower garden can also be enjoyed by all your neighbors.

There are many different types of mulch.  In my vegetable gardens I like to use to of the easiest and cheapest kinds.  I usually lay down four to six sheets of newspaper topped off with my grass clippings to keep them in place.  This is very effective and almost free.  In my sidewalk flower gardens I use non treated bark.

You can find many more mulching ideas in www.MotherEarthNews.com. 

All gardening is therapy to me, but weeding is the best. There is nothing like getting a bucket and just sitting there and pulling weeds. You can either zone completely out and think of nothing at all or you can really examine a problem. The bonus, when your done zoning or have solved your problem you have a newly weeded garden.

This works with any weed at any time of year. However, I have a favorite weed and a favorite time of year. Late July and early August like clock work one side of my front yard grass gets mike weeds. (I don’t know if that’s its official name.) Almost every evening for 2 to 3 weeks I get my weed bucket and spend an hour or so just zoning or contemplating the world.

Late one afternoon a couple of years ago, after watching me sitting in the middle of my yard for a few evenings a neighbor came over and asked me what I was doing. I explained I was pulling the little mike weeds out of the grass. Well honey he says you’ll never get rid of those, we all have them. I know I replied but this is better than going to therapy.

And so it is. I almost look forward to late July and early August and my time with the milk weeds.