The garden at my flat on 3rd Street consists of three raised beds, two of which were totally neglected and needed serious work, and a casual strip of soil along the alley toward the neighbors. I amended all beds with (too much) horse manure which resulted in small plants and skinny crops during the first growing season. After the winter 09 cover crop I expect the beds to perform beautifully.

Potatoes turned out to be an easy crop: In the spring I bought a few pounds at the farmers market, cut them in pieces so that each piece had an eye to sprout, and six months later I had a quite bountiful harvest in spite of all the horse manure.

In the spring I used my wood working class to build a cold frame. This is a great way to start early veggies and to protect the little guys from the elements during the rest of the year.