It rains often where I live and I also have heavy clay soil. Wearing shoes or boots in the wet garden means tons of soil sticks to them and also causes soil compaction. However, walking barefoot in the garden does not cause this if the soil is not totally saturated.

I have found that working in the garden barefoot has made me a better gardener in that I can tend to weeding and harvesting quicker after it rains. To wear shoes, typically we must wait 2 to 3 days before entering the garden to accomplish anything, so weeds tend to grow out of control and produce gets overly mature.

There are still some tasks that cannot be done, for example, beans should never be touched when the plants are wet — that is an old wives tale that is true. But, basically, barefoot gardening is a good thing. If you have never tried it, I recommend it some time.

Should I chop up my plants and just add them back to the soil, should I compost them first and then add them to the soil? How should I best prepare my garden for next years garden in Montana?

two different plants please. links to places where i can get specifics would be helpful :)

thank you
i need it 4 school

I can only plant my vegetable garden near a black walnut tree. Something in the tree make-up prevents certain plants from growing. Which ones do better than others. Thank you
There is sun but the drip line of the tree is close to the garden.