I always jump the gun in the Spring.  I look at the catalogs and I plant my seeds indoors, but inveriably I do it all at the wrong time.  My seedlings come on strong and then we have extended bad weather, or a late freeze, and I end up starting all over again because my little plants have spent way too much time indoors to transplant effectively.  My lack of patience has been an obstacle for all my gardening efforts in the past.

This year I did something a little different.  One of my neighbors planted structural bamboo in some very wet areas ten or twelve years ago, but never realized that the canes need to be periodically harvested in order to force larger growth.  The result is thousands of small canes that have dissappointed his plans.  I asked him to let me use them, and I have constructed mini-hoops with them.  Now I can cover all of my permanent beds and my seedlings can go out when they are ready without much worry about sudden, strange weather.  The mini-hoop frames covered with plastic and blankets will keep my transplants nice and cozy even when the temp. drops below 35 F.

I am simply astounded at the soil I have been able to generate using a modification of Hugulkultur.  Where the soil in my berms circling the mature Oaks and Hickories I am using as the Guidlmasters in my Food Forest, was too sandy with very little humus, I can now reach down elbow deep in rich, dark, potting soil.  The woody materials I used as the structural foundation of the Berms have all but rotted away, but their effect on the breakdown of the sheet compost and mulch layers above them has been phenomenal!  I have never seen such soil outside a bag.  I can only imagine what I will be able to grow in those guilds this season.