wrapping up the Summer's veggie garden

[misty]

Well, its about that time of year when the vegetable garden is finished. I was just wondering what you all do with your garden at Summer's end & how you prepare the ground for the next year. This used to be m y husband's job, but since his brain injury he's unable. This is one of the chores I cannot wait for him to take over again..LOL What I did last year was pull as many of the plants as possible then just mow it to the ground with the mower. I laid a tarp over the entire area & weighted it down with bricks. This Spring when I uncovered it, there were still a ton of weeds growing, even under a tarp! And the ground was hard to till. I was wondering if there's a better way? One that isn't expensive as we are an EXTREMELY tight budget.

[Tumbleweed]

I don't have a veggie garden but my guess is covering it with a tarp that doesn't allow for rain and snow is probably why it was so hard to till. I wish my SIL and brother were still here but they just left for home, I could have asked them. They grow a wonderful organic garden although this year it got trashed by huge hail.

If I remember, I'll give them a call and ask what they do to get ready for next years veggies.

I'll help you celebrate when your hubby is doing well enough to take over that job for you.

[misty]

Well, my dad was here yesterday & he helped me pull all the plants. I took the last several green tomatoes & wrapped them in newspaper where they will ripen in a couple weeks (old trick my grandfather taught me). I asked my dad about the tarp possibly making the ground harder to till & he agreed so we are leaving it bare. We'll see next spring what the difference is.

[Tumbleweed]

What a great tip! My brother still managed to bring me quite a few tomato's, more than we can eat so I'll try your tip for sure. It seems some of their veggies did come back so they did some "trading" with neighbors and managed to get some tomatoes. I haven't called them yet but I'll try to get at it today to see if there are any tips they have to share about wintering their veggie garden.

I do know some people plant a winter crop (I'm thinking alfalfa, for one) in not only their farm fields but their veggie garden as well. I guess it helps put nutrients back in the soil. In the spring they just plow/till it under. I have no idea how much alfalfa seeds cost or how many you'd need but it maybe something you want to try in the future.

I also know some people buy hay and spread that over their veggie gardens for the winter to retard weed growth. In the spring they just rake it back leaving a little to be tilled under and then move the remaining hay back around plants to retain moisture. Tilling a bit of the hay into the soil enriches it. Of course hay costs money but I think it is cheaper than mulch, but still, not an option for you. (I would be a bit hesitant to use hay, personally, unless I really knew what good hay looks like (which I don't) because I know some of it can be moldy & could possibly contain a lot of weed seeds. )

I do think most people just leave their veggie beds bare with no special treatment aside from doing what you did (pulling the plants).

I'm pretty sure leaving that tarp off will make tilling, come spring, much easier. Plus organic things will have a chance to land in your garden to help enrich it. Now if one was not money poor, like you and I, landscaping fabric would be the way to go to preventing weeds from growing, although they still try to grow. I'm pretty surprised the weeds did grow under that tarp.

Weeds! A never-ending battle and I never seem to actually have them under control. Grrrr.