Tucking in our Soil Beds for Winter

    We begin preparing for the First Frost (read more in “When the First Frost Ran Away Like Elsa”). Something Valerie taught us was the concept of Solarizing Soil. I had never heard about this before, so I was intrigued. When we solarized the soil, we took mattress plastic and laid it over the beds. The plastic is cheap, and frequently community members will donate this to us! Held down by bricks, the plastic traps heat, killing all the remaining plants and living things inside the beds. It keeps the soil stagnant and ready to be revived in the spring. Another method we used to get our soil ready for the frost was laying newspaper and grass on the different beds after we removed all the plants. It kills weeds, acts as compost, and attracts worms. Worms turn the soil and keep it fresh, and their feces provides a great fertilizer. Winter is coming, which means it’s time for the beds to take a nap till the Last Frost. We’ll see them then!