Waking Up

The raised beds are still covered and cozy in their burlap blankets this week. Big plans for them in the next few days!

Last Fall, we took a class from the Seattle Tilth called “Putting Your Gardens to Bed.” We learned about a soil-building technique, which we’ve tried here, called the InterBay Method. It was very simple and promises to replenish the soil naturally and grow lots of beneficial, hardworking microorganisms.

Basically, we layered “greens” and “browns” on top of the existing soil, wet everything, and then placed burlap (free from the coffee roaster) on them. We just left them alone all winter. The greens and browns are things like leaves, other garden matter, compost, and used coffee grounds (free from the Starbucks down the street). We also kept a few things in the garden and kept gaps in the burlap — lavender plants and some parsley. They said leaving some things like this can help reduce soil compaction and also put good things in the soil, too.

I haven’t even peeked under them yet, but J has and says it looks like great black stuff under there.