It's
the end of October, and the deciduous trees are shedding their
leaves. The lawns are covered, and the grass will begin to suffer if
they are not moved.
The asparagus shoots are over; they, too, are shedding their leaves and beginning to fall over.
The
asparagus was cut to the ground (with all that mulch it's hard to know
where the 'ground' really is, but just below the surface of the mulch
will do!) and thrown onto the lawn. The thick cover of foliage through
the summer had inhibited the growth of weeds, but new seedlings of
mallow and nettle had to be removed and the dying stems of willow-herb
pulled out. The willow-herb is perennial and its roots spread widely
through the vegetable beds and the fruit cage: probably all over the
garden! It can't be eliminated; just pulled out whenever it's seen.
The
stack of weeds and asparagus fronds on the lawn might get in the way of
the electric mower, but the petrol mower cut them into tiny fragments
which were perfect for the compost bin!
And then the leaves.
The petrol mower sucked them up, cut them into tiny pieces and bagged them. They were then tipped onto the asparagus bed and spread into a uniform layer. Over the winter the fungal hyphae will invade the pieces of leaves and digest them. The earthworms will move up under the insulating blanket and swallow the fungal hyphae, bits of leaf and lots of soil. Then they'll spread their fertilizing casts throughout the mulch and deep into the root-zone of the soil.
Next Spring the
plump, succulent spears of asparagus will push up through the
mouldering leaves and the family will enjoy this most delicate of
gourmet foods until mid-June.
By the time the fronds are allowed to grow again the leaves, the fungi and the worms will have worked their magic, and the thick, spider-like roots will swell with food for the following Spring's harvest.
By this time next year all those leaves will be leaf-mould, more leaves will have fallen and the cycle will continue.
Meanwhile, it's a mild Autumn and most of the leaves have not yet fallen: more leaf-mould to come!
The petrol mower sucked them up, cut them into tiny pieces and bagged them. They were then tipped onto the asparagus bed and spread into a uniform layer. Over the winter the fungal hyphae will invade the pieces of leaves and digest them. The earthworms will move up under the insulating blanket and swallow the fungal hyphae, bits of leaf and lots of soil. Then they'll spread their fertilizing casts throughout the mulch and deep into the root-zone of the soil.
By the time the fronds are allowed to grow again the leaves, the fungi and the worms will have worked their magic, and the thick, spider-like roots will swell with food for the following Spring's harvest.
By this time next year all those leaves will be leaf-mould, more leaves will have fallen and the cycle will continue.
Meanwhile, it's a mild Autumn and most of the leaves have not yet fallen: more leaf-mould to come!
