I have elected to take this Monday off, so I would have one more day to rest – mentally and physically. Sometimes, two days away from work is just not enough, especially, when one is doing so much over the weekend. I was supposed to take Halloween off but being my boss’s backup on certain things and he’s taking the day off, someone must be there to hold down the fort. So it’s an extended weekend for me.

I needed a day mostly to recharge after spending the weekend cleaning up the garden – taking down plants that will perish in the upcoming frost and washing and cleaning tools and seed-starting trays. Of all the summer crops, the only thing that remains is a zucchini plant, which is now under two layers of frost clothes. I kept that plant, not because I have high hopes that I will be able over-winter that plant but because I want the zucchini to get a little bigger before I can chuck the plant into the compost bin.

Last week, I bought a new compost bin and it’s supposed to arrive Thursday along with a heavy row fabric. I bought the heavy row fabric just in case. I currently using row covers on the raised beds for protection and will be transitioning to greenhouse plastic as the temperature dips just a little colder. I can’t use plastic if there is still 60+ degrees-Fahrenheit in the forecast because that will be too hot, especially in the front garden. Once I switched over to the greenhouse plastic, the row covers will be used for when temperatures drops below 20-Fahrenheit as extra protection.

Anyway, I am excited for the new compost bin to arrive because it’s an open-bottom bin that will allow the worms and decomposers to wriggle their way and help decompose the plant debris. Did I mention it holds over 200 gallons? I have over 250 gallons of plant debris composting right now but I’m afraid it will go anaerobic in such a closed off area, so as much as I hate to spend the money on such things, I felt like it will pay dividends in the long-term, just like the 20-gallon trash cans I bought a few years ago.

With the amount of debris I produce in the garden, I like to keep it in a closed loop, meaning little to nothing gets outsourced to the landfill. Also, in the long-run, I should be able to save on soil.