Fence is done

Got the fence built. Went ahead and used the wooden pallets and just used the fence slats as stabilizers on one side. Haven't made a gate yet, which I need to do mostly for my daughter. The whole fence is modular, so it can be moved or reconfigured as needed. Though I think I'll tie them together because they're stable with the wind blowing one direction, less so from the other. As predicted, it's not ugly but not exactly decorative. Kinda looks like a livestock corral. Works to keep the dog out of the garden, though.

She's not looking too happy about it. Her playground just got a lot smaller. But she still has several thousand sq ft to run around and she's not tied up.

Took some temperature readings in the garden. Ambient temperature is in the 60's. Temperature at surface of the mulch is over 90. At soil surface it's about 60 and remains that temp for about an inch. Temp at 3 inches soil depth is about 50. Those are good temperatures, where most things will grow. The temp 3 inches down is especially good because it means the soil temperature is remaining somewhat stable and not freezing even with light frost some nights. And the soil is remaining moist below the mulch, so direct planting should work now. Long as we don't have any long cold spells anytime soon.

Went through the garden a few days ago to do the last pre-season treatment with vinegar and ammonia. From this point on, I'll balance the pH of the solution to 6.0 to 6.5 and avoid the more intense mixtures I've been using.

Some environmentalists say the intense useage of N fertilizers can deplete the soil of organic matter in a short time. Up to now, I've been trying to bring the soil into balance, which it was far from. Now it's a matter of keeping it there. And keep adding organic matter along the way via compost and mulch.

I beg ignorance on modern commercial farming techniques in some ways. It's well known commercial farmers use too much ammonia. I'm not sure what they do with organic matter, though. I have been to a couple of local farms and the soil was surprisingly hard, heavy in clay. These are farms which have been worked for generations. The soil shouldn't be that way. I'm guessing they harvest not just the crops but whole plants. It would be best if they tilled the plants back in. Then they use heavy ammonia which causes bacteria in the soil to overpopulate and consume any organic matter present. I want to avoid that situation and keep things viable for many years to come.

Need a nap. Scheduled for work tonight.