These are first year beds. I made them over the winter and this is the first crop to grow in them. They are swales (ditches on contour) with hugelkultur beds just below the swales.
The material is river birch and sweet gum, with some old water oak thrown in for good measure. Compost, soil, leaves and old hay.
Left to right: Asparagus and sunflowers, butternut squash, cantaloupe, cucumbers, strawberries and jarrahdale squash.
The butternuts:
Allstar Strawberries, bought from chefmike's recent co-op here at ATP.
Who says hugelkultur locks up nitrogen during the first year? Tell that to this Jarrahdale squash plant.
Tomatoes and marigolds. Peppers in the bed above.
Mexico Midget tomatoes, bearing fruit in early May:
Yep, we're happy