put down the straw bale (for now)

If you've experienced a frost in your garden already, you might be eyeing your strawberry bed and that bale of straw in the garage. I know, covering them feels like the responsible thing to do. But this is the one winter chore where doing it early is worse than not doing it at all. Strawberries need a few weeks of steady cold to harden off. Mulch them before they get there, and the trapped warmth tells the plants it's still early fall. They keep pushing out soft new leaves (the first thing to...