In the midst of this crazy cold spell (which the locals tell me is unusual at least in its duration if not in its intensity), I'm glad I took an hour during December's pretty weather to mulch down what plants I currently have in the ground. Raking leaves out of the woods took more effort than expected since the organic matter had already started rotting down into heavy leaf mold, but that same heaviness will likely hold them in place in the windier conditions up here on the ridge.

Will snow cover plus leaf mold protect roots that only had two weeks to get established before being whacked in the face with negative 4? I won't know until spring, but I can sure hope so!

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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