Sheet Mulching

I can't quite believe it's been over two months since our last blog post. With the start of Mackenzie's school year in September and all that comes with the fall church rhythms, it's been a busy two months for us. But during that time, we've managed to spend a few spare hours in our yard, finishing up our summer growing season, and preparing our yard for fall and winter.

The two biggest projects on the docket were trimming our overgrown apple tree, which Mackenzie's dad, Jim, and I tackled a few weeks ago, and expanding our garden area for next spring.

For the latter we decided to try our hand at sheet mulching rather than renting a tiller and fighting with the grass and weeds. First off, we made a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond and Pier 1 to collect cardboard boxes to cover the area. Fortunately, Pier 1 had just received their Christmas shipment (already!?!), so they were more than happy to give us all the boxes we wanted.

 

We then visited our local landscape supply store, West Seattle Landscape & Stone Supply, to purchase 3 1/2 yards of cedar grove compost--enough to cover a 26 by 14 foot area 3 inches deep, bringing our total garden area to 26 by 26 feet.

They were able to deliver it the same day, so I got right to work, trying to avoid the coming rainy weather. It took about two hours to move and spread most of the compost, and then I finished the job a few days later. It was fun watching our garden expand, and picturing what we will plant next spring. (We definitely want to try growing a few pumpkins next year.) Now we wait for the cardboard and compost to work their magic. Bye-bye grass and weeds!

Can't wait for spring!