Dressed for Winter Rains

One thing my gardening teachers have impressed upon me is the oh-so-wrongness of uncovered, bare soil for the winter. Since I never seem to get around to a cover crop, I've developed a second-best method-- to dress my beds for winter in a blanket of chopped leaves and straw. The earthworms love it. Hence the sticks on top....because if the chickens are out of the pen, they head straight for these beds to scratch off the covers and devour those fat earthworms. So lately, I'm adding a stick covering just in case of rogue chicken attack!