Outdoor garden and flower bed preparations began in March during that lovely week of warm and non-windy weather we had here locally. My first action was something new.

There is a new bed, 2 ft. deep by about 150 ft. long. It was created and tilled last Fall and now was time to mulch it with hay. But, the new component was to amend it first. The amendments were grapefruit rind already decomposing, plus tea bags, egg shells, and unsoiled bamboo toilet paper collected from this winter. A trench was dug the length of the bed, then I crawled along and put the concoction into the trench, covered it back with dirt, then mulched with straw. I will do the same next week in a 1X8 ft. bed that will be for pumpkins and winter squashes. This allows me to use these compostable items and support good microbial life in the soil as it comes alive from the sleep of the winter.

Every bed has been straw mulched. Here that helps the snow melt stay in the soil longer while it warms from the intense sun of 7800 ft.

I’ve been watching the course of the sun because I envisioned a few spots to grow food, such as along fence lines. Not sure everyone will work for veggies. But, mint will grow in partial shade, so that might be what’s done.

Today, the back yard got tilled by a neighbor farmer. Before that, it received a layer of 3-yr old goat manure, compost from the compost pile, and excellent soil. We watered the mix for two days so that it would till easily and mix. Yeah!