Tidying and planning

A warm day in January, especially after a run of sharp cold, seems like midsummer.  I was out in the garden in the afternoon, acting on some plans I'd been fomenting during the cold snap.  

First I laid some scraps of wood on the ground by the buddleia next to the path.  I'm using them to mark the edge of an expansion of the bed I'm planning this spring.  Here's a picture:

This new edge will create a spot for a patch of pepper plants.  I have a tough time with rotation of members of the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes) because I grow so many of them. That's why most new beds get planted with one of the three the first year.  I'll also put peppers and tomatoes in the new bed by the fence, a spot that now gets plenty of sun since the hurricane knocked down an overhanging tree. I t's full of leaves right now, and is Sol's favorite hangout on sunny winter days.

And I moved the  eight foot by four foot recycled plastic railroad tie bed from next to the grapes (they need more room) to alongside the old sixteen by four foot bed, paired up with the trex bed (just in the frame on the right).  I like having three beds made of different materials next to each so I can compare their durability. 

All three of these new beds need soil. I plan on bringing in a couple of pickups of compost from a local nursery and combining it with the horse manure that's aging under a tarp in the front garden.  I ordered blue potatoes this winter, and they'll go in the moved railroad tie bed.  

Finally, I cut back the raspberries. They'll need some manure too.... maybe on the next warm day I should visit the horse farm.