Recently, I started a local homesteading group on NextDoor. My goal is to connect with and learn from other people gardening in the same conditions that I am. I can tell you that in the couple of weeks that the group has existed, I have learned new things already. I asked the group what winter gardening they were doing. A member told me that she wanted to enlarge her Back to Eden garden. I didn’t know what she meant by that. She explained that she had to do very little weeding or watering, and she had learned how to do it by watching YouTube videos. So, intrigued, I did a little research of my own.

I’m not a video person when it comes to getting information. I prefer to read. You too can find plenty on the subject with a simple search. There are those who claim it will bring you closer to God, and those who claim it’s really not all it’s cracked up to be. I found this article from Epic Gardening to be helpful, because it encourages you to improvise with what you have available.

So, I have the perfect spot to experiment with. It’s at the very end of the West Garden. The sprinkler doesn’t reach it because I have it turned toward the strawberries. The area is right now covered with weeds and crabgrass. There is nothing I would like better than to cover that spot, which is hard as bricks, with newspaper, rather than try to hoe it up.

Essentially, you have three layers. Newspaper to cover and block the weeds. Compost, for your seeds or starters (this spring) and then mulch to protect your compost over the winter, and keep it moist in the summer. I have plenty of newspaper. I have plenty of compost from the chicken coop. And I have plenty of piles of leaves.

So now all I need to do is get to work… If you happen to live in the Upstate of South Carolina, please consider joining our homesteaders group on Next Door.