country n news-story of a garden bed

COUNTRY N NEWS-STORY OF A GARDEN BED
i am always looking for ways
to make my garden beds better
at the same time staying totally organic
but
also trying to figure out ways to save water
a precious commodity in this area sometimes
especially here at the country n
where we only use rainwater
we have no well and we have no city water
just
what falls from the sky

when we first moved here
i was excited to get my garden ready
so
i took my shovel and
well
i hit rocky rocky soil
there was very little top soil

solution
bring in my own soil
so
i took limestone blocks that were left from the previous owner
made 4 ft x 12 ft raised beds
with about 12 inches of depth
then
i went and bought bulk top of the line garden soil
that had compost organic fertilizer green sand minerals etc
already in there
ready to plant it was
planted i did
but
as i have learned over the last 15 years
the soil gets better each year as it matures
compost is added plant materials added
it just seems to get richer

my next step later was
to dig out my beds completely
removing all the soil down to about 16 inches
then adding 2 more layers of limestone bricks
making my soil depth a good 2 ft

then
on the bottom i added tree limbs and stumps and leaves
and newspapers and cardboard and compost and soil
all layered up to the top of the bed

now
after a couple of years i have deep rich soil
that i farm only with my hands
rarely only using a rake or a pitch fork to twist in the compost

then
i dug trenches between my beds about 18 inches deep
added a deep layer of hardwood mulch
added inches and inches of leaves
up to the top of my beds
now having a compost pile between my beds
that holds gallons and gallons of moisture in my soil
down deep
plus each year i can just dig down in my trenches to
get fresh homemade best you can get compost

then
i dug trenches down the middle of my beds
added either 2 inch or 3 inch pvc pipes down
about a foot in the soil
drilling holes in the bottom half of the pvc pipes
then put the pvc in a sleeve that keeps dirt out of
the pipes
then
this is how i water deeply once a week when watering is needed
sending the water and liquid fertilizer deep to the roots

so
now i have a rich rich garden soil
surrounded by compost
holding tons of water deep under the top layers
providing moisture and nutrition to the plants
using a third of the water i used previously

all i have to add is
water
love
and then
i have a great garden all year round

water   compost   good deep soil
thats the life blood of a good garden

most failures i see are from the lack of these three things

maybe
you should try it

its almost fall and winter gardening time around here

the organicgreen doctor