We have started our bed preparation and planted just about all of our cool season plants (mid to late March). We have planted onions (both seed and bulbs), garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, many types of lettuce, kale, chard, Brussel Sprouts, arugula, spinach, potatoes, beets, carrots, snap peas, turnips, etc. The soil was still cold below the surface so I did not place any mulch/straw over the surface so the sun could continue to heat the dark soil.
Half of our hoop house is planted!
Both sides of the hoop house are planted!
My daughter helping spread straw!
Some may think that we have this backward, but we are putting down straw in all of our aisles, not on the beds. We still need the sun to heat up our planting beds so we are putting down straw in all the places we walk to give us a better/dryer surface to work from, keep the rain from washing our soil away and keep the weeds away. When things start to dry out and all our cool season plants have sprouted, I will spread straw or grass clippings around them as well to keep the soil moisture in and prevent weed growth.
What a good helper!
Look at all that area I do not have to weed this spring!
Now we just sit back and wait for rain and seed germination.
A little bit of straw over the top of my strawberries in the Spring (late March).
I did spread a little bit of straw over the top of my strawberry beds so that the new shoots can grow over the straw. This will hopefully mean more of the fruit develop sitting on top of straw instead of having direct contact with soil that rots the outside of the berries.
