I like to let it set out over the winter as a top dressing for additional weed seed killing. It had far fewer seeds in it than I feared in the first application last year. Still, it is best to be cautious. Horse poop can be loaded with seeds. They have fewer stomach parts than cows.
There are still a whole bunch of parsnips to dig. I imagine I'll be making a big batch for Christmas dinner.
It is going to take a lot more of my composted crap to finish. I have two big piles ready to go. I plan to be generous. All that manure made a noticeable difference in this year's garden.
Can fine dung make you happy? I think it can.
The whole garden needs a fresh layer of wood chip mulch too. The mulch will further suppress weeds and as it decomposes it feeds the soil. The soil in my roadside vegetable garden just keeps getting better and better.
The wood chips were doing a fine job on their own. The dung has kicked it up a notch.
I pooped out after eight half tubs of dung were screened and spread. The last part of the afternoon was spent contemplating additions to the winter interest of the under garden.
I need to sweep the winter interest plantings of the front half of the slope over to the left and the back part of the slope to give the garden more coherence. I actually looked all season for more of the variegated Yucca filamentosa at a decent price and never found any. Those alone would do wonders to make the under garden whole and make an even bolder statement.
I have five big variegated Feather Reed Grass heeled into a dung pile for dividing and planting on this slope early next spring. That new color and texture spread over the slope will help.
I need bold to highlight the ancient ruins the cozy cabin sits above. The color difference between wet and dry rocks is pretty stark. I like the dry rocks better. I'll have to live with the contrast though.
There really is a garden under there. In the winter it is completely visible from the scenic byway. My evergreen screening has a lot of growing to do before I begin to get hidden. I can give the rubberneckers something to contemplate in the mean time.
Can tidy make you happy? I think it can. Particularly when tidying things up doesn't leave you with an empty plate, when a garden is still there to look at.
In this case, it reveals that I am indeed making progress.
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5 comments:
Your gardens look great for winter time. The rock art and structure is awesome.
Unprocessed cow manure is a source of Bermuda grass here. Everything is a source of weeds, including the air.
Thanks Jean. It really is starting to look like something. Thank goodness I don't need to worry about Bermuda grass. The wood chip mulch is really good about stopping weeds until it decomposes and thins out.
I thought leaves would make good mulch where my asparagus is. Maybe next yr my cukes will climb better & produce.
Leaves make a fine mulch Lola. The more organic matter you can get on and in the soil the better.
Good to learn about your wood chip mulch usage. Janet and I will probably be using that on my paths. Hope to get it from Southern Tree Care
who has done my tree work.
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