Starting to sheet-mulch the upper tier of the garden in preparation for our perennial crops. Sheet-mulching is a method for improving soil, also commonly referred to as sheet-composting or the lasagna method, that involves laying down a "sheet" material such as cardboard and covering it with layers of seed-free organic material. We are fortunate to have access to a plentiful supply of aged horse manure (thank you to Beth and her friend!) and semi-composted leaves so that's what we used, plus we topped it off with a layer of straw mulch. For more information on how, why, and when to sheet-mulch see Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway, Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik, or do an internet search.
Unloading a trailer full of horse manure to be used in our sheet-mulch beds. It's handy to have a place to unload materials uphill from our work area so we can work with gravity, if only this trailer had a dump mechanism!
A clever idea one of our gardeners found for marking your rows. That's Popeye on the spoon—we all know what he likes to eat!