Design

Those of us in deciduous forest habitats (and with lots of deciduous trees in our gardens and neighborhoods) have plenty of free organic mulch. First, save your own leaves -- don't let any of those go to the curb. Second, snag your neighbor's leaves.  We collect bags full of them. one of our leaf stashes! Finally, corral the leaf-vacuum trunk (if available) and have them dump a load or two in your driveway! Why buy hardwood or pine bark mulch for your garden when leaves are free?

My experience with the raised beds in the mountains was an eye-opener.  Fresh commercial compost supported a remarkable lettuce, chard, bean, and tomato harvest (and it's still coming). So at home in the Piedmont, I've refreshed all of my turned-over beds with compost (with big bags of Brown Kow, a commercial cow manure compost product).  I wish I had enough homemade compost to do it, but obviously, keeping nutrient availability high requires a LOT more that what I've been doing.  And I'm happier using Brown Kow (a venerable product that I've used in the past) than the 'compost' offered up as a generic big box equivalent. I've sowed seeds of mesclun mix, arugula, cilantro, etc. in flats and directly in the soil. We'll see. Happily, the asparagus beds are flourishing, too.  Woodchucks DON'T like asparagus.  Hooray!