Garden season retrospective. Part 2 of N

Permaculture/no dig/ back to Eden/lasagna gardens do take some time to set up. It is mostly easy on the budget work because one would go after free materials (cardboard from store, wood chips, free manure, weeds - green bio mass, grass clippings, whatever kitchen vegetable waste), layer these, let the nature do the thing.

After one year one looks and learns what does the soil do.

First one looks at what do they have to start with.

And here is diagnostic hole soil profile in the area near garden, not far. As it is on 'pasture'... not like I have anyone grazing there, well except of free ranging chickens.

 This is 1-2 inches of top soil, after that is different variations of clay. This is taken after multiple snow storms in January. Our so called wet season. This is how not covered soil cracks in winter, these are small, in summer we can have half of a tree root system ton by one of these cracks, they can ho several feet deep, several inches wide.

Took samples in different areas where soil was not covered, this pasture is not bad as is started from bare dirt dry lot.

 And here is right next to those not covered areas where the soil was mulched on pasture between the clump grass

 And the grass there is green and started growing in January-February

 Here is near new wind block (has long way growing)

And same but 3-rd season in making in the garden. "Black" soil is composted wood chips and garden waste and earth worms that are taken between the rows, put on top (after tomatoes were frozen well and chopped and dropped as well). The soil is not black technically, at leas when I wash my dirty garden clothing it never was, it's like deep deep brown stuff. It is soil under construction, and many different types of wood chips went there, branches, bark, and what else, leafy trees, evergreens, pines, name it, all kinds of trees and whatever was on them (hopefully life forms).

 Here more of these rows in making, tomatoes and other remains being chopped

 Garden is covered like so

 We found main irrigation pipe... hard way... via t-post hitting it in the middle. Now there is a separate garden zone.

 And wood chips are loaded in between the rows so more worms will do the work. From December to spring there is plenty of time and moisture to get it all settled and done.

By evening one has this nicely mulched and ready for next seazon

This is in August in dead heat above 90F+ all drip irrigation, one can see how does the pasture look like, like a fire hazard. Yet mulched garden is quite green

 And it produced not badly either

Folk who try it say fod tastes better and many comment on tomatoes. These stain my hands brown in no time. So I actually do pick my tomatoes in medical gloves. Or I can scrub my hands for a very long time.

And there was in in good bit more one can manage. I'd say chickens were eating well too

And eggs taste better...