The fourth bed - preparing for beans galore!

We prepared the fourth garden bed last Sunday as well, to the left of the water tank, about 2m by 1.30m wide. The earth was very poor and dry. We removed the weeds, set an outside boundary with bricks and pavers and added plenty of organic material. As we turned over the soil, a lot of black dust went up and got stuck everywhere. I wonder what heavy metals are hidden in there. We added compost, sheep manure, two big buckets of dead leaves that we first soaked in water, some bentonite or kitty litter to improve the moisture holding content and the composition of the soil.

We planted beans only, four different types, including a native one; two climbing beans, one dwarf and a normal variety, eight seeds for each variety. I had soaked the seeds in a wet flannel for about 36 hours before planting. From each variety we planted two seeds in toilet rolls. I read about the planting in toilet rolls in my favourite gardening book and we wanted to give it a go. I think the toilet rolls are secondary, what really matters is the moisture and mineral content of the ground. But we will see and this experiment will gives us a bit more of an idea.

Today is the full moon and we wanted to get the seeds into the ground before then. Moonplanting seems fascinating and worth while trying. Also on Sunday the moon was in taurus and that is good for beans because it is an earth sign. 12 hours before the full moon one should stop planting. I am pleased because I got the banana plant into the ground in time as well.

The pink spots in the picture are oleander flowers from a big bush to the left that provided shade from the morning sun. The bush will have to go and make place for another water tank.