By Janet Sellers
I’m looking to have less grass to mow next year. By covering grassy weeds now with newspaper layers or cardboard, then pine needles, then rocks to hold it all down, those layers should become soil by spring, and be ready to plant low-growing cover plants and pollinator-friendly flowers.
For composting all year, gardeners create a “compost pole” using a bundle of sticks, stalks of sunflowers or corn in the center and a mesh tube made of stainless steel or wire, or chunky woodchips placed in the pile to create natural air pockets. Some use a 4-inch tube, drill holes all over, and center it in a trash can. Layer paper scraps, kitchen scraps, pine needles, and leaves, etc., all season into the can around the compost pole, always replacing the lid. No turning is needed; air enters from the tube area.
Before the ground freezes
Now, we’ll take our geraniums, tap off the potting soil, place the plants upside down in a paper bag, clip shut, and overwinter in a cool place like downstairs or the garage. Or, let’s prepare a Hügelkultur bed or compost pole for next year’s garden. Here’s how:
- Dig a hole and set the soil aside. Pile a third of the hole with aged or new branches, logs and thick sticks on top of one another. Water in this layer well. (Scrub oak and pine branches will age over the winter).
- Layer weed-free grass clippings, manure, or compost with layers of shredded paper, brown leaves, grass clippings, cardboard, etc. Tuck in these layers; air pockets will lead to dry conditions and slower decomposition. Water in well.
- For the top, add cured compost (alpaca is great) or healthy garden soil. It’s important that it is at least as deep as the wood base if filling a raised bed. Then top off with the saved soil from the digging.
- Over time, your Hügelkultur bed will naturally hold a lot of moisture, but in the first year of use it’s important to keep it moist (not saturated) in the growing season to help the organic matter decompose.
- Seed directly into the top layer and cover with pine straw.
- Hügelkultur beds will only get better over time, as the wood provides a slow release of nutrients.
Think ahead for effective microorganisms next year
Effective microorganisms, EM, are a superpower for the garden growing season. They can be grown from inoculants easily from a mother culture. It’s a liquid combination of yeasts, actinomycetes, and two kinds of bacteria, photosynthetic and lactic, which promote plant health and growth and improve nutrient absorption and soil fertility. I’ve found it online, but some local places may have it.
Janet Sellers is an avid “lazy gardener,” letting Mother Nature lead the way for easy gardening in the Tri-Lakes high altitude nature and gardening climate. Send tips to JanetSellers@ocn.me.
Other Gardening articles
- High Altitude Nature and Gardens – Cornmeal in the garden; sweet potato leaf greens (10/1/2025)
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- High Altitude Nature and Gardening (HANG) – January is a seed starter month (1/4/2025)
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