an afternoon of muck

I'm going to call the abandoned house across from the trailer court the Garden House.

Yesterday I double-dug my first 5X5 garden bed. The ground was pretty much just slimy, clayish muck. It took me maybe two hours to turn over about six inches of sod, loosen up the muck underneath, add about four big armfuls of dead leaves, break up the wet, mucky sod and spread that over the leaves, and add a bucket of kitchen scraps and about one cubic meter of fresh horse manure. Then I covered it back up with a heavy black plastic tarp.

Mike came over when I was finishing up. He was surprised that I had got so much done. Ha! I am mighty with a shovel!

Today I'll do another bed, and that's all I'll be able to get done this week.

Last Wednesday, I planted 3 dozen onion seeds -- nothing up yet but it's only been 5 days. If they're not up by the 15th, I'll try soaking the seeds first and try again. Today, I'll start the long beets and two kinds of cabbage.

Next week, I'll turn my two beds and make another one -- that'll be my three spring beds. Then I have a month to make the summer beds.