Whiskerton Garden is already looking great! Koto, our generous land
and water-sharer, chopped down a maple and a pine tree that were on the
perimeter of the garden. Because they were located on the South-end of
the garden, several beds will get a lot more sunlight than last year!
Koto chipped the trees, leaving us with the long-overdue wood chips I
had been trying to find for months! The wood chips will provide a lot
for the garden:- Marrionerries will be much easier to maintain without weeds and grass growing tall and tangling into the vines.
- The garden will, as a whole, retain moisture and require less watering.
- Weed-suppression along paths.
- Keep people off of the beds.
- Woodchips slowly breakdown and provide habitat and food for healthy bacteria in the soil. With a healthy bacteria ecosystem in the soil, more nutrients become available for the plants.
In addition, the garden looks great with its defined, chipped paths
that wind around. We also spread a lot of compost on some of the damaged, sandy beds. I can’t wait to see how it looks in a few months with
cucurbits and alliums growing all over. I plan on using vertical space
for growing all of the large cucurbits.This time last year I had not even started volunteering for the collective. And already this year I have a plan, calendar, committed apprentices, and starts growing in the greenhouse!
