Garden Prep

Yesterday I spread (roughly) a cubic yard of freshly-cooked compost over our main garden area. Then I turned over the whole plot - about 350 square feet. This upended the winter rye cover crop. The soil looks good; although there is quite a bit of variation. Some areas are slightly more sandy and other areas have more of a heavy, clay-like texture.

According to the Pacific Northwest Garden Guide, I should now be working on getting the soil warmed up. I should also do something to keep the spring rains off the garden. The soil, after all, should be moist. Right now it is heavy and soggy. Our forecast calls for four days of sun, however, so by Sunday, things should be good!

Since we're planning to move to a drip irrigation system for (at least) the main garden, my next project involves bringing a hose bib out through the wall of the greenhouse. The Old Amigo is a tad nervous about tackling the plumbing, but the line to the greenhouse has its own shutoff. That at least will prevent serious disruption to the main water supply.

Oh, and I picked up a copy of an excellent book on drip irrigation. It's called (remarkably enough) Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates. The author is Robert Kourik. I ordered my copy from Barnes & Noble.