They Garden Best Who Garden Least

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As the cold intensifies during the winter the ground may freeze more deeply but it will be spared wide fluctuations in temperature. There are two reasons for mulching after the first frost. If the mulch is put on too soon, it may generate enough warmth to stimulate the plants to start a new growth cycle—an unkind trick at this time of year. The other reason is rodents. If field mice or other rodents move in under the mulch, they will cause damage to the plants.

Other annuals can benefit from mulch in cold climates. The mulch acts as insulation when Mother Nature neglects to provide snow. If you mulch fruit trees, protect the trunk with wire mesh or some other barrier so rodents can't eat the bark. If they girdle a tree, it will die. When someone asks what I do to the garden in fall, I am likely to say, "Nothing" Picking up after myself and spreading manure and mulch on the small patch where the plastic had been; that's about it. And yet I feel the garden is nicely protected. Much of it is covered with manure and mulch, spread in the spring. What isn't covered with mulch is covered with a green manure crop—weeds and other plant residue.

The soil life has been left undisturbed so it is in the best possible shape to weather whatever winter brings. And, through careful planning, the garden will collect more than its share of nature's mulch—leaves and snow.

A New Contest at the Common Ground

The first frost usually happens about the third weekend of September in my garden. If I haven't gotten all the tomatoes, cucumbers, and the like harvested before I head off to the Common Ground Country Fair in Windsor, Maine, I usually regret it. The Common Ground Fair, by the way, is the best fair ever. No midway or carnival rides. No sugar, white flour, or caffeine but lots of really great food.

It is sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and must be in its twentieth year, considering the age of our son and the age he was the first year of the fair.

Rather than watching horses or oxen straining to pull heavy loads you can watch work animals doing real work like twitching logs or pulling a wagon. The sheep dog demonstrations are always a treat. You can see cider being made, follow wool from sheep to sweater, and watch boats and houses being built. You can learn about solar energy and wood heat. And there is entertainment in the form of wandering and stationary minstrels, various dancers, and children's parades. Plus, there are endless demonstrations of everything from compost making to horse shoeing. It is a homesteader's paradise.

It is also the site of the Annual Harry S. Truman Manure Pitching Contest. I take pride in being the creator of this splendid event. The idea was born while spreading manure over an acre from the back of my pickup truck. When spreading manure this way the first task is to position the truck so you can reach the maximum amount of garden space, propelling the contents of the truck with a pitch fork, manure fork or shovel. The implement depends on the density and weight of the manure and its ability to hold together. The ideal for spreading is dry horse manure with lots of shavings. You can use a big coal shovel and really fan the shovelful beautifully, covering a large area. However, when you have covered as much of the area around the truck as possible in that manner, you would like to have a long-handled pitchfork and some wet cow manure with lots of hay and straw in it to hold together in a package for air delivery to a far corner. While thus employed (an acre took about 20 loads as I recall) I would provide a sports commentary to my activities.

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