Keeping It Simple: Cover Crops
A cold frame extends the season by weeks at either end. The soil is stronger every year, largely because I stopped digging it.
What did not work
The difference showed up bit by bit, then all at once. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. The slugs got most of the lettuce, but the beans did well. Here is what shifted, and what stayed exactly the same.
The particulars matter less than the habit of paying attention. I wrote most of this on a calm Monday morning. Below are a few observations, roughly in the order I worked out them. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about wildflowers.
What I would do differently
There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. I like seed trays that shows the marks of how it was made. If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you.
A watering can helps, but it is not the point. Saving seed means next year’s garden starts this autumn. What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. Between saving seed and pruning roses, the second one taught me more. I would rather do one thing carefully than five things in a hurry.
The best advice I got was just to slow down.
wildflowerscover crops