Spring is trying to spring
Here is an update of our pre-garden yard for Spring 2016... This picture is of the side of a small hill built up as Chuck excavated for our patio. We decided to put two bales on top and try some gardening. This is one of the reasons I LOVE straw bale gardening. I know it is kinda tough to see, however, if you look closely you will note that the soil in the center of the photo is a bit darker. This was directly under one of the bales. So, as the bale decomposed, it added nutrients and organic matter to the soil. I know it is not a dark, rich brown like what comes out of a compost bed, but this improvement is significant in that over the course of the decades the house has been here, the soil has been severely depleted. Just one season of bale gardening had this effect...and it wasn't even a prolific bale! Bales that keep producing continue to break down and enrich the soil. We won't try gardening in this spot again, as it is west-facing, and between the brick and