Temperatures are back over 32°C (89.6°F), and we’re experiencing another heatwave. This is why I decided that it was time to do another mulching tour in the garden. I have lots of freshly sown vegetables and a couple of beds with young plants that are without mulch. I’ve used all the hay that I got with the newly bought plants, but that wasn’t enough, so there was no other option but to mow again. 

Last time my hubby was at home, so he helped me with mowing, and I wheeled the grass clippings to the garden and mulched. This time I was on my own. The plan was to mow at least half of the orchard and use the clippings for mulching. Let’s just say that the plan was overly ambitious.

Usually, I mow the orchard with a trimmer, I never use a lawnmower in the orchard. I only use it in the yard and I never use the collecting basket that came with the mower. We’ve attached a small string to the basket holder, so the mower flap would be opened at all times, and the grass would freely fall out. It’s not fully opened for safety reasons, just enough to be able to mow without a basket.

Mowing with a basket turned out to be a real nightmare. The mower itself weighs around 8kg (17 lbs), which I can handle, but with an added basket that totally shifts the balance on the mower and the weight of the grass in the basket, it was just too much for me. Probably if I were mowing the flat surface, I’d be able to do it without any difficulties, but mowing on a hill, where you have to mow uphill otherwise the mower would pull you with it down the hill, the added weight felt like pushing a 50kg (110lbs) barrel up the hill, and like a barrel, it kept on trying to run me over.

Still, after 3 hours, I managed to mow enough grass clippings to mulch the mulch-free beds and to add more mulch to neighbor’s beds. Again the clippings are mixed with forest and orchard dry leaves, which is even better than the clippings themselves.  

Now my entire garden has been mulched except for the tomatoes. I’m not giving them more moisture. I’ve managed to stop the blight, and there’s no way I’m letting it go wild again. Sure the cabbages that are in the middle of the tomatoes are suffering, but they’ll have the chance to grow in October, while the tomatoes will probably be gone by then.

With the heat we’re having, the mulch will be dry today and the plants will start showing again, right now the beds are just a pile of green grass. 

With the mulching done I’ve finished all the garden chores for this week. I still have to water the garden every day, but apart from this the garden has been cleaned, sown, and mulched.

Now I can concentrate on storing vegetables for winter. Today I’ve been making pickled beets and baking peppers, and tomorrow I should be getting a huge order of vegetables from a family farm, which will keep me busy for the rest of the week. The pickling season is open.