We tend to have what is known around here as gumbo mud. . . which is the black clay. The older part of the garden has been worked for years now so it doesn't take that long to get it done. But the newer, well that is another story. Today I was able to dig one more raised bed, tilled and planted 4 more rows, along with getting all my cages put around the tomatoes and peppers and put up my fencing for the pole beans and cucumbers to climb on. Had to call it quits early cause we had a couple places we had to go today and then to the BYC get together this evening. Got three donkeys sold and 2 goats. Have to deliver them tomorrow. Guy said he has been searching for tame donkeys, but so far has only seen ones that you couldn't get close to or ones that were in really bad shape. He is getting ours for his grandkids and he liked the idea that they are ride able for them.
I talk to people that spend hundreds on stuff to add to the clay, and yes that works, but just by adding leaves every year it mixes well in it and becomes productive. I'm lucky to have woods in the back of the property. I mow it in winter, letting the mower spray the ground up leaves into rows, which get picked up for both the garden and greenhouse. My problem was I started a garden in about four different places. Each year I moved it to a new spot, so the soil never got good. I finally found permanent locations for both, and with three years of working in organic stuff, it's getting workable. I did cheat in the greenhouse and bought a bunch of bags of cheap topsoil to till in to get started with, but add leaves both in winter to till in and in summer to use as ground cover between rows.
Oh, on a side note, I had said I had planted asparagus three times with no success on an earlier post. Well yesterday I was weeding and mulching, and in the corner of the greenhouse I have asparagus shoots! Yeah! I actually weeded a couple before I realized what they were, oops.
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I still need to plant some pole beans along the back fence of the garden, but that's it till the weeds start. I had several tomatoe plants and pole beans that sprouted in the greenhouse from last years crop, so have been transplanting those outside along with the seeds. I don't even know why I'm planting beans, as I have about five cases of them from last year. Guess I'll have some to share. I've never tried saving dry beans from the garden before, mayby will try that this year too.
I hope you're not as sore as I am from yesterday's work! It's a good sore though.
I don't believe I remember you having mentioned donkeys before. They are cute, but since you can't milk or eat them, I've never considered them before. (Kidding, we'll sort of). We must have had a donkey salesman come thru this area as every pasture around suddenly has a donkey or two in it. I have heard they are good for scaring away coyotes, and we have a lot of those around now. My two outside dogs are my security system now. There pretty tough when they work as a team, at least on little predators. They'd probably run from something as large as they are
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