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 the windows on the back of the house, this area does a good imitation of an Easy Bake Oven!


We added this straight piece today, cutting off the part of the patio-to-be in the lower-left corner of the picture. This will allow us to push forward with continuing the patio project while we continue to work on the Cavern.


Chuck did a wonderful job of clearing out the weeds, etc. Now to buy some landscape fabric and order a delivery of sand so we can start laying the flagstone...after we put the fire ring into place, that is.


 Here you can see some of the poles Chuck was able to get out of our "Cavern." There are at least 2 more still there, and they are fighting to stay put. Chuck also found a pipe at least 3 inches in diameter and at least 8 feet long jammed in there. We are going to try to hire someone to get the rest of this stuff out so we can get it filled in properly.


Moving to the front yard...it is kinda tough to tell, but we have started building up a berm in the front yard. This will be planted with hesperaloe and native grasses and will help give the front yard a finished look.


As Fire Management Officer (FMO) at Saguaro National Park, Chuck planned and oversaw many prescribed burns. As a retired FMO, Chuck has allowed me to team with him in performing prescribed burns in some key locations in the yard where the summer grasses got a bit carried away.


We are done planting bale gardens back here.  On the right side you can barely see our fig tree. Just this side of that location is where we will plant our new shed, probably sometime this summer. The bed on the right side was a bad fit for berries, so we will try growing beets and sweet potatoes there.


A couple of weeks back, Chuck fired off the asparagus bed (on the left) and today we took care of the grasses around the outside of the bed.  Oh, and there is a very good reason you do not see ANY asparagus in the asparagus bed! It was delicious :)

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