Garden Report 3- mulched and needing more mulch

The garden is now covered in straw.  I wasn't sure what else to do with too many weeds coming up and not enough rain to keep the soil moist.  I'm checking out a pile of leaves pushed up against a neighbor's fence and wondering if I could convince the boys to spend a day raking and spreading them on top of the straw.  We've also been collecting cardboard and feed bags and putting them down along the pathways.  More than anything right now I could use some more wood chips, I've already gone through 10 yards and it would require several more dump loads to get the amount I need.

    

 The hugel beds are growing strong plants and weeds, not sure what to do about that because everytime I pull a weed it creates erosion and I lose a bit of soil and stability for the plants.

The boxes in the front are doing their work.  After further investigation I'm happy to report the sweet potato loss was not as bad as I originally suspected, I am seeing new leaves sprout from the shriveled plants.  

I lost two napa cabbages, one day they were there and the next they were withered, and still wondering why.  Greens are doing well and finally got to thinning beets, turnips and carrots.  

We got some cucumbers in along the side of the house

The peas are flowering and climbing

James set up a tower for his bird house gourds to climb

Peonies are popping 

A neighbor split an order of basket willow starts.  These are salix americana and so far so good.  They are tiny now but should grow to a hedge and maybe by that time I'll have time to experiment with basket making?!

Lupines are out and I'm feeling the urge to plant some more for soil coverage under some trees

Peter got a sunflower house in and already they are sprouting.  He mixed in a few climbing beans to climb the sunflowers and planted a pepper right in the middle for snacking.  On another morning a neighbor showed up at my door at 8 am and suggested we "have fun in the garden".  We found a spot and put in a row of bush beans and she was generous will all sorts of tried and true garden tips.

The potato towers are growing quickly and now I'm wondering if they are tall enough for the job. 

And the most exciting addition to the garden this week is a small flock of guineas that were picked up yesterday at a bird show in Charlotte, MI.  The kids are playing with them and training them to remain tame and I am looking forward to them growing into their role as primary pest patrollers. 

Looking back on 

garden report 1

garden report 2