Hi Mark - I am going to use chopped leaves that I gathered last year and the last few weeks from my fruit and nut trees. Just curious, do you have any problem with infiltration of grasses ( like quack or bermuda grass ) coming into your raised beds ? Also do you have any problem with pocket gophers, moles and voles ? I do , with both of the above.
Weeds are not an issue, since the beds are gently forked over every spring, and any weeds in the beds are removed at that time (we have very few). During the growing season, the weeds that do grow are so easily pulled out, that it's kind of fun. Having a deep mulch of chopped leaves during the growing season keeps weeds growth to a minimum for us. We have not had issues with rodents in the garden (yet). I see our Ace Hardware has a gopher spike trap that looks interesting. They are $35, but we do have a few gophers in the pasture, so I might make the investment.
Great info, thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it. Our beds are put to bed now for the winter, with a thick layer of chopped leaves covering them.
Hi Mark - I am going to use chopped leaves that I gathered last year and the last few weeks from my
fruit and nut trees. Just curious, do you have any problem with infiltration of grasses ( like quack or bermuda grass ) coming into your raised beds ? Also do you have any problem with pocket gophers, moles and voles ? I do , with both of the above.
Weeds are not an issue, since the beds are gently forked over every spring, and any weeds in the beds are removed at that time (we have very few). During the growing season, the weeds that do grow are so easily pulled out, that it's kind of fun. Having a deep mulch of chopped leaves during the growing season keeps weeds growth to a minimum for us. We have not had issues with rodents in the garden (yet). I see our Ace Hardware has a gopher spike trap that looks interesting. They are $35, but we do have a few gophers in the pasture, so I might make the investment.