Preparing the Yard for Winter

We have many big tress in our yard including Oak, Sweet Gum, Walnut, Maple, Birch, and Gingko. We raked the leaves off of the lawn and bagged them so that we could mulch them for leaf mold to put in the garden next year.

We made two "leaf mold" containers earlier this year. We wet down the leaves really well when we add them to the container. To keep them moist we put a water proof cover over them. We found that it works to have two crossing PVC pipes over the top to keep the middle high, otherwise the rain collects on top of the cover. We will have to check occasionally to make sure the moisture is staying trapped inside allowing the leaves to compost.

Mulching Leaves

It is impossible to rake up the leaves that fall into the mulch without raking up a lot of the mulch with them. So, we mulched up these leaves mixed with mulch and re-spread them over the mulched areas of our yard. Last year, we were able to get a lot of free mulch from the power company. This year they never brought us any even though I contacted them several times and at least once they responded that they would bring us some. We were happy that having the Sweet Gum pruned a bit by a Tree Trimmer and Martin pruning the Oak and a few other trees gave us enough mulch to cover that rest of the area in front of the chicken coop and rabbit hutch, so that we will not have to go inside that gate next year to mow lawn. We were not excited about the mulcher we bought last year dying in the middle of mulching up the Sweet Gum and having to buy a new one, but it appears to be working well.

Mulching Mulch with Leaves and Tree Limbs

This year, we also planted "winter-over" crops in the garden as we have heard that it is very healthy for the garden to do so. We did this in several different phases as time, weather, and rabbit droppings would allow. Some plants are growing well and others didn't get put in soon enough to grow much yet, but we can see a few sprouts. All of the garden received a dose of leaf mold, that we made last year, along with a dose of rabbit droppings. We mixed this in the the garden dirt before planting the winter seeds. We are hoping and praying that all of this work and effort will make for a better garden next year.

Winterizing the Garden

We have had several cold spells that have interrupted our work out in the yard, but then it warms up a bit and we are able to get more done. We finally feel like we are ready for winter. The first and only snow we have had this year was in November, but already that is more snow than we had last year. We are hoping for more snow this winter to help with the drought conditions. Also, cold weather is more bearable with snow on the ground, especially if there is enough to play in.

Hoping for more snow