Despite being February and technically still winter, it is spring here on the farm.
I love spring.
All summer long I am busy making compost, in “cold” piles and with the chickens but as much as I work to make as much compost as I can there is never enough.  Because of this and because we are adding 450 feet of market beds we purchased and had compost trucked in.
Last Fall we staked out the new garden.  Previous it had been a big pumpkin patch, but we needed to move it because of squash bug issue and I wanted my new market beds closer to the established garden area.  The pumpkins will go in the new, raw area, they are a good plant to break in a new place. We made each bed 30″ wide and 50′ long.
Not wanting to disturb the soil already there and not wanting to churn up weed seeds we are laying six inches of compost right on top of the soil and not mixing it in.  Well made compost can be planted directly in, it won’t be too hot. The isles will be planted with mini clover, that will help keep the weeds and dust down and when it is mowed we will rake the clippings right into the garden beds, and as the plants grow we will add mulch and cover crops.
I love this picture, it shows the steaming compost both in the pile and in the wheelbarrow.  This shows how well the microbe activity is, good healthy microbes mean good healthy soil. It is also nice on a cool morning to be able to warm up at the pile!

Our beds are all ready to go.  In about two weeks I will be starting seeds indoors to be planed out the first part of April.  The Peas will be direct seeded mid-march, carrots and beets will also be direct sown in April.

I am so excited for the season to begin!