Fall Work Day 2
Today marks our final work day of the season!
We had 12 large bales of straw delivered to us from Essex Coop, and were joined by Alden (our garden consultant), who taught us how to lay the straw. Thank you for your time today, Alden, and to our volunteers Lindsay and Ashley who came to lend a hand! Thank you also to Dima from physical plant who lent us the handy wheel barrel.
Our next work day will be in May, when we will check up on the soil and plant for the new season.
Here's an overview of what we did:
Work Day 2: Covering the Garden Beds with Straw
First, we hoed down the beds to uproot any weeds.
We then carried in a bale of hay at a time on the wheel barrel.
We took a pile of straw and laid it over the garden bed, spread it out and made sure it wasn't clumping together.
The straw was laid to be a couple inches high. We took care to lay extra straw where there had been a lot of weeds earlier in the season.
What does the straw do? Straw retains moisture for the soil, prevents weeds from growing, and ultimately breaks down to enrich the soil. It will prepare the garden beds for planting in May.
