National Organic Week Day 7: Wood Chip Mulch

It is Day 7 of National Organic Week here in Aotearoa New Zealand, and I thought I would once again share how advantageous we have found following the Back to Eden Gardening Method to be. It is a method of gardening that embraces an organic, spray-free and no-tilling approach to growing your own food.

I have written several previous blog posts about our garden and why we use this specific method of gardening, so you are welcome to go and read all about it, particularly via the following blog post links, about our use of Wood Chip Mulch and also this post documenting our Mulching Progress. 

As I have said in a previous post, The Back to Eden Gardening Method is a method of gardening that will sort everyone from the youngest to the oldest, as it really is very low maintenance. You can literally taste the difference this earth-friendly method of gardening makes, when it comes to producing good food for your table.

Here is a link to the actual Back to Eden film that was so inspiring for our household: http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/ . I highly recommend watching it.

The Promise of Strawberries

It feels really great to be at that time in the year when you can start to think ahead towards planning and planting out potential crops for both spring and summer. I planted out some strawberry plants this week, having spotted them turning up for sale in the local shops. It feels somewhat less bleak and wintery, when you get to plant things out in the garden like strawberry plants!

I have also noticed in the last day or so that the daffodil bulbs I planted some time ago are already sending up the beginnings of their leafy foliage. Once they start to bloom, it will really feel like winter is on its way out!

While the current winter weather is fickle and shifts so easily, occasionally thrown into the mix is a random day full of highly appreciated lovely sunshine! Today was one such day, and schoolwork (we homeschool our children) was done outdoors on cushions; so we could all enjoy some much needed sunlight.

Gloomy grey days that are overcast and oppressive are typical fare in winter.

Days with endless buckets of rain falling repeatedly, plus crisp frost-licked mornings with thick fog hanging around most of the day, start to really wear thin after a while.

However, planting out things like strawberry plants this past week, definitely puts a little hope back in one's heart. It reminds us once again that Spring WILL eventually relieve us of winter's thick grey cloak.

When strawberry plants are turning up in the shops, when daffodils, tulips and hyacinths planted some time ago start showing the first signs of reaching up from the dark and damp soil, you know winter will not hold us in its grip forever! What a relief it is!

Yay for strawberry plants! Each one currently being planted in our backyard garden is a source of joy.