Until now, I haven't mulched in my garden. According to the Ecological Agriculture Projects website, there are lots of good reasons.

• controls weeds
• protects roots
  
• improves soil
  
• reduces pests
  
• keeps soil most
• moderates soil temperatures

The last two reasons prompted me to mulch this year. I planted my hillside potato patch during a warm spell. After only three days of watering from my 55-gallon rain barrel, it was over half empty.

I gathered a large tub of leaves and pine needles from the cliff-side path (with the added bonus of a neater trail). After a heavy watering, I spread the natural mulch over the potato bed and watered one more time. My hope was to keep the sprouting seed potatoes moist enough to keep growing during an upcoming two week absence.

I saved some of the leafy mulch for my strawberries in pots and a few seedlings that had to be hastily repotted before my departure. Fortunately, we've had rain during our time away from the cabin. Hopefully, between the mulch and the extra moisture, everything will not only survive, but thrive. I'll keep you posted.

The Ecological Agriculture Projects website is published by the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill University in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada. Publications are available in French and English on a variety of agricultural and gardening topics. -- Margy