garlic mulch

i have some robust garlic growth in the south side of the house ( top photo )...but the nones has passed, the ides are upon us, and the cooling weather is beginning to have an impact on the plants( second and third )...so i spread some straw out on the bed and sprinkled some compost on it ( used about twenty pounds on the whole bed )...as the weather turns wetter later in the week the compost will thin and act as a sort of mortar to hold the straw in place...since i have no real intention of taking this straw up in the spring ( garlic does not like competition so we will mulch some of it out of existence and the garlic will not be shy about popping up through the mulch when the weather warms sufficiently ) the compost will percolate down through the straw to feed the garlic come spring...i laid some old jerusalem artichoke stalks across the top and then put some wire mesh tomato cages on top of that to help keep the straw in place...when that was done i went in and had some lunch...that was good too.