Another Load of Horse manure

I went and got a second load of manure today. It is now covered and protected against the elements. I don't really need it for about another ten days, but now I am about ready. When the time comes to water it and pack it down I will probably need about one more load. It is just piled loosely, with the cover it won't be frozen when i need it no matter how cold it gets in the mean time. It is so much easier to do this work when there is no snow, so this week was a good opportunity. Now I have to hook up my electricity. You can see the romex I ran from inside the house. Also I am going to hook up a vent fan and install a vent for fresh air to enter.

Trench Composting Manure, and Double Digging my raised beds.

I have been trench composting manure and double digging my raised beds since last fall. Double digging doesn't seem too popular in gardening circles right now. I am convinced it is worth the trouble, for maximum production in  quantity, and quality, and size of your vegetables. For each 4 square feet of room in my beds I have worked in two wheel barrow loads of manure. I am in the city so I can't compost it, above ground, both because of the odors it would cause, and the volume that I am applying. I bury each pickup load as it arrives. Even with the freshest manure there is no odor when I am done. I am starting to get some very good soil. This is my third season. It has been a little heavy going. Even though we have had very little rain, the beds are quite saturated with water. If I didn't have such high percentage of organic matter I wouldn't have been able to work them up. They say that the organic matter absorbs seven times it weight in water. No matter how hard the rainfall I don't lose a drop in runoff.

Planting Tulips-Hugelkultur Style-

I bought 25 Tulip Bulbs called Darwin Hybrid. I tried to lay them out equidistant, and then shoved them down several inches. They should be buried deeper, so I put several inches of fresh horse manure over the top and another several inches of chopped leaves over the manure. That way it shouldn't draw flies and smell. I sprayed some water to top it off, hoping that then the wind won't blow away the leaves. Now it can rest and we'll see what happens in the spring.