Today is a fruit crop day, with lots of rain forecast over the next week. So we took the opportunity to plant an early crop of bush beans. We heavily planted last year's spinach transitioned to squash then kale mound (for those looking backward in posts for reference).  We also planted provider bush beans in the raised bed with the least amount of winter cover crop success, where the pac choy went and four still flower out to seed.  A few cilantro volunteers are showing up in that same raised bed. I love how Nature chooses where she will thrive and express life. I sowed a few bush beans in the pawpaw mound as well, to give a little extra nitrogen in the future. There was a mound behind the neighborhood sign in the front yard that I tried to fix our first year here, mostly sand and covered with landscape fabric. Not the most conducive situation for plant life, so red ants had turned the 10ft x 3ft mound into a condominium.  Over time I managed to slowly rip the fabric back and amend the soil to established some plant life which can thrive in mostly sandy conditions. The red ants have their place in this world, I would say they have done more benefit than humans for agriculture at this point. By aerating the sandy mound, moving different layers of soil, organic matter, seeds, water, and oxygen, they have restructured the soil to be more conducive to life. After they had moved on, generous amounts of diatomaceous earth were used, I moved oregano from the spiral garden to this mound, about four 2ft diameter clumps of oregano. Three of them seem to have taken root and survived the winter. I raked leaves over the mound, about 6 to 8 inches thick, to mulch the mound for insulation and erosion protection. Today I discovered the three patches shooting forth lots of new growth, added some better soil, and planted about a dozen sweet corn plants. Might make a good vision block, and I aim to do pole beans with squash at the base of the corn, filling the rest of the mound the oregano doesnt. I am curious to see what the corn will do in such a mound, after such amending over 2-3 years.

March 22nd it has begun! The first seed ball sprout has been spotted. A purple or red brassicas by the look of it, red cabbage or red russian kale most likely.