Work Progresses at the Dust Bowl...a/k/a the Plots

Work is progressing at the plots. Yesterday was a scorcher though. It was 90 degrees at noon and we still haven't had any rain.  How crazy is that??? It's April!!

The long bed to the left is the potato bed. 

This bed is amended and ready to be planted. The potatoes will be planted tonight or tomorrow. I have held off planting due to the excessive heat. I also marked off the pathways so I wouldn't walk on the soil where the beds will be located. 

This is the compost that the county dumped. It's not the best. I put a thick layer on top of the grass along the fence. Hopefully this will decompose the grass. I will be planting pole beans & corn along this fence. I still haven't put the gate up. It's not my top priority at this time. I did decide to move it a couple of feet to the right. So, it's a good thing that it hasn't been installed.

I think this will be my problem area. This is some of the compost from the county which was tilled into the soil when they did the last tilling. As you can see, there are some clumps of grass that are starting to grow. I'm going to shovel as much of this compost onto the paths that I can. Then I am thinking that I should cover this with a tarp to help decompose the grass. 

This is a picture toward the back of the plots. I have the posts and gates laying by the big pile of dirt. I think that the gates will go up as soon as I finish the strawberry bed along the back. 

This is the back of the plots. The bed on the right is the strawberry bed. I installed the bunny fencing and framed out the bed. Then I started prepping the soil. This is a process. First I pull out the clumps of grass that have any life in them, lay the clumps on the path or on top of the dirt and relocate any worms that I find. Then I add some of the organic manure that I purchased last year to the soil. By the next day, the grass clumps are dead. So, I crumble them up and add them back to the bed. This drought is a blessing and a curse. It is making it easier to deal with the clumps of grass...since they die so quickly. Next, I water the bed then add another layer of some of the bagged hummus that I purchased, water again. Then add some of the good dirt, water again, mix in a little and water again!! I've been spending a great deal of time watering the soil!

The bed on the left is the raspberry and blackberry bed. The raspberries are doing well and the blackberries have yet to be transplanted. The straw is really doing it's job and keeping the moisture in. 

The Asparagus transplants are sending up new shoots!!! Yippee!!!

So what gardening did you do in that crazy heat yesterday????