In the beginning II

I added the middle bed and ended up with  four 32 sq ft (4’x8′ ) beds and one 16 sq ft (4’x4′) bed, then it was time to fill them.

Mixing using a large tarp is the best way to get it done; trying to turn and rake and mix it by hand is a losing proposition. Either way, it is a dirty job, as the self portrait of my feet on mixing day proves:

If you buy compost by the bag through the big box garden retailers you will spend real $ filling the beds; fortunately I had been preparing a large amount of compost in anticipation of the garden. Below is a shot of some of the composting bins brewing several years of fall leaves mixed with a truckload of dairy manure

With the beds filled and the grids marked with string, the garden was ready for planting by mid June.