Sheet Mulching in the Rain

Back to back storms this week lead to the usual traffic mayhem. A common refrain around here is that Californians don’t know how to drive in the rain. In the garden, however, all is well.

Anxious to finish my sheet mulching project, I’ve been gathering additional cardboard wherever I go. With my son’s help, I put down the last of the cardboard yesterday under a light rain.

With the cardboard in place, it was time to add a layer of garden waste.

Serendipity! Today’s storm brought a bundle of leaves to the ground, begging to be scooped into a wheelbarrow. I happily obliged.

It takes a lot of leaves to mulch a large area of lawn, so I gathered leaves in front of three different houses. No one complained! ;-) I started my sheet mulching project over a week ago, and after thirty minutes of digging managed to throw out my neck. It’s been a mess ever since and I worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the project on my own.  The better news is I did it. I raked, swept and scooped leaves for over two hours late this afternoon without stressing my neck. Ironically it hurts to stand up straight or lean back, but I’m fine bending over.

Whenever it rains, I find myself humming ‘Raindrops on roses’ from one of my all-time favorite movies, The Sound of Music. With apologies to Oscar Hammerstein I’ve come up with a gardening rendition. In case you’re not familiar with the tune, I’ve included  an audio clip below.

Raindrops on noses, this weather I’m smitten
Dark, cloudy skies, stormy weather has bitten
Brown, rotting leaves rainy weather does bring
These are a few of my favorite things.

Waterlogged earthworms are shaped like a noodle
Scooped from the gutter, in oodles and oodles
Soggy wet weather it makes my heart sing
These are a few of my favorite things.

Sweeping the gutters, the rain water splashes
Raindrops that stay on my nose and my glasses
Storm after storm rainy weather it brings
These are a few of my favorite things.

When my gloves tear, and my neck stings
When I’m feeling had
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad.

The incomparable Julie Andrews sings My Favorite Things in the 1965 movie classic The Sound of Music.