Drought fighters

Drought fighters.  Mulching the paths -- not so much to hold down weeds yet -- they aren't sprouting; it's too dry out. The soil is turning into dust and I want to lock in all the moisture I can while I can. The beds are not as bad, because they already have a lot of organic matter in them. And I don't want to mulch them in the spring months as they need to heat up in the sun.

This paper is 3-ply feeds sacks, not coated with wax or plastic, cut apart to get six sheets per sack.

We're covering the paths with paper and straw. This will cool the paths and lock in moisture. It's not Ruth Stout's nine inch mulch but we have to let some solar heat in.

As the south slopes heat up, we get a breeze from the river that wants to blow the sheets around, so I water them to hold them in place till the straw arrives.

The straw is local but that's about all it has to recommend it. No, this is not really organic gardening, but almost. Each of us has to draw our own line, and I want something to eat.

We hose down the straw to tamp it down out of the wind a bit.

This stripey look is kind of neat but the straw will darken and in a couple of weeks will match the beds.