Today I spent most of the day clearing out and readying the shade bed. This is a portion of dirt under the lilac tree that originally had a rose bush when we moved in. It has since been used as part of a dog kennel, and more recently, the resting place of two rabbit cages (nothing like letting nature do the fertilizer work for you). Those cages got moved last year or the year before and this plot has just been left to fend for itself. Until today, when #3 and #4 helped me clear it out. Sticks in the campfire pile, junk and random debris in the garbage, a couple nails and metal bits in a pile to recycle, all the seedlings from local trees and squirrel hoards pulled up, and finally, hand tilling the soil. It looks beautiful! I wish I'd have thought to get a "before" photo, but this "after" picture will have to suffice. The usable portion of this bed is 9-feet 9-inches by 4 feet, or 39 square feet. A portion of this bed runs under the house and is not usable. Because this garden is in dappled shade, the plan is to use it for greens - lettuce, spinach, cilantro, mustard, collards, kale, radishes, and possibly carrots too. The winter sown containers that I have opened are flourishing. All of them are frost-resistant varieties, so I'm not terribly worried about them with the cold weather this week. I've got spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, and a couple broccoli plants.
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