While I don’t mind having grass around my raised bed garden aesthetically, mowing and trimming around the boxes is a bit challenging and time consuming. Since I am the official groundskeeper of the property, I began dreaming of ways to make mowing quicker and easier.
When the tree fell in January, I decided I would use this gift of free lumber and make a border out of the branches. It’s a more rustic look than using store bought landscape timber, but I like that it has a story that ties to the farm, and the price was right. My parents were planning to come down in April and asked if I wanted some leftover weed barrier. Without hesitation, I gave an emphatic, “Yes, please!” Mulch was on sale that week, so I asked if they’d be willing to help me lay the barrier and mulch the area during their visit. They said sure and that my aunts could help too, so I went and got the mulch.
Used to transporting 1 cu ft bags of soil, I totally overestimated Subie’s hauling capacity of 2 cu ft bags. I ended up taking half of the bags home and then going back for the rest. Oops. The bags were big (Sid sized), especially heavy (since wet), and awkward to carry, but I managed to get all 31 to the garage that night and then to the back patio the next day. I figured I could at least do the heavy lifting and let my guests help with the more tedious task of the weed barrier.
Using a trowel and numerous landscape fabric pins, we tucked the weed barrier under the existing boxes and secured it to the ground. My gardenscape has developed over the last five years without a master plan. It would have been easier to lay barrier in an open area, add the mulch, and then place the garden boxes on top.
Mom guessed that I had considerably underestimated the amount of mulch I needed and sent us to Home Depot for 20 more bags. We were fighting rain that day so only placed my 31 bags plus five additional bags (which doesn’t appear to be that far off–I had measured and played with a mulch calculator). The mulch has yet to have the opportunity to dry out so that I can spread it out more evenly, assess how much more it needs, and add my fun whimsical touches to the garden.
Overall, I am very pleased with the result. If it ever stops raining so I can mow, I know it will be a much easier task now. I’d like to thank my landscape crew for a job well done! Thank you very very mulch!!!
