SPRING 2023

Learning from the previous year our "test farm" we are making some changes and additions to the property:

• - identify new garden area for pumpkins
• - continue mulching the beds
• - Trellis the blackberries
• - protect blueberries from birds
• - improve all soil, from flower beds, to garden to orchard and other fruit areas

This property and all our animals are such a blessing. We are deeply grateful for having had the ability to make this move here (so is my gardening buddy - Little Bit)

One of the most time-consuming tasks I faced when we first got to the property was to improve the soil in all gardening spaces. Previously there was shredded pallet wood died black covering the ground - it added no organic value, no food, soil moisture - no earth worms were present, only grubs.

This is what the gardens looked like in Spring of 2022, with the black, pallet mulch (many use this as it lasts a long time. However, it add no nutrients to the soil). Today, when you dig into the soil, you will find earthworms and the beginning of organic matter building up in the soil. The plants show how well this is working

I have lost count of how many trips I have made to my "mulch patch" I found a place where I could get free mulch and have been there well over 20 times with my trailer, hand-forking about 1 1/2 yards per load. It takes about 15 minutes to load, and well worth the effort, based on the results I am getting.

Each bed now has at least a 4" cover of mulch. Yet this is an on-going process. Each year will need new mulch to ensure the organisms are properly fed and soil is sustainable for all the plants. Trips to get more mulch will begin again in late February.