Three Buckets Full

One of my last chores in the floating garden was to dig up the last of my old strawberry plants. The mother plants are about nine years old, and they have stopped being productive. I started the job at the beginning of the month, but wanted to finish it before I have to leave the cabin in early November. I approached the task using the three bucket method.

I used one bucket to save rooted runner plants. I put them in my strawberry nursery pots on the deck. In the spring I will use them to help start my new beds.

I used another bucket save the leaves to use as mulch for my asparagus roots.

The last bucket I used for stems and roots for the compost pile. It's tough for them to decompose by spring unassisted, so I use my nippers to cut them into small pieces. Having a small garden allows me to do things like this on a small scale. Now the soil can rest all winter. -- Margy