Winter soil adjustments

I put out three new beds last week, up by the main garden. One is 18 x 3 and the other two are both 8 x 4, although oriented East/West rather than North/South like the old bed. I've got the turf dug and turned over but still need to mix the new soil and add it in. Fortunately, the weather has been nice and I may get out there in the next week or so to finish up. This is the last of the new bed expansion for the year. All in all, I increased the gardening space from 32 square feet of raised beds in 2006 to 182 square feet for the coming years. That should provide enough space for a variety of crops, rotations, and soil pH.

Speaking of pH, I recently got back the results of my soil test. About three weeks ago, I got a soil test kit from my local county extension office. The kit was free but the testing was about $10 apiece. I tested two of the new beds and along the back fence where I hope to plant blueberries in the spring. The bed that will hold my asparagus came back at 7.0, which is too high. The bed by the deck was even higher, 7.5. I applied between half a pound and a pound of aluminum sulfate to each bed under the straw mulch and lightly raked it in. I also sprinkled a pound in the new bed for strawberries over the upside down turf. I'll add some more to the soil mix when I get it in that bed. I also need to determine the spots for my blueberry bushes so I can dig now and amend the soil with sulfur for spring planting. The fenceline came back at pH of 7.1.