straw on garlic
We finally found a local supplier of straw and purchased a few bales on Saturday and managed to get them out onto the garlic beds Sunday, the object being to help insulate them from bitter cold and wild temperature swings.
The ground is already exhibiting frost heave signs from the shallow soil and cold wet bedrock underneath.
We plan to add another 5-10 yards of dirt to the roughly 500 ft^2 giving it at least another 6″ of depth, sometime in the spring, on the unplanted regions of Veg 4A and 4B, saving enough to do Veg 4C after the garlic harvest.
Speaking of dirt, every new place we try out has been disappointing.
Too many weed seeds, garbage and cigarette butts. So next year we switch again and see how the new guys work out.
The weekend was again sunny and unseasonably warm, so up went the holiday lights, down came a lot of tree branches that needed trimming and in general a good cleanup in preparation for snow.