Welcome to my blog! Thank you for reading. First I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Audrie, my husband is Cash, and we have two daughters (a two and almost six year old). We live in northern california in the foothills of placer county (zone 9), for many years we have enjoyed gardening and experimenting with what is possible in our very clay soil.
Last fall I started planting in mass amounts to experiment with flower farming. I have so far planted a large patch of tulips (trench style), fall planted ranunculus, and anemones. And during our cold winter months I was able to grow indoor prechilled tulip bulbs, and paper whites bulbs (bulbs that don't need prechilling). And now I am on to seed starting.
The last day of frost is usually around mothers day in this area. So now is a time for planning where the seedlings will go when they are mature. Cash and I have been building raised beds from pine logs that we have cut in half and steaked into the ground with re-bar. We try to use all free materials and budget as best we can also I love the natural look of pine logs vs a more man-made material. But we have also built some beds from corrugated metal and framed with 2X4s that were given to us for free(Kind of a cool rustic style).. I guess the key to our budgeting is being creative with what we have laying around the yard, over the years we have accumulated lots of "stuff" sometimes I call our house a junk yard but in reality a lot of the junk has a purpose lol. Im sure a lot of people can relate.
Our land is on the smaller side (1.2 acres). And has lots of slopes and clay soil. I had a soil test done recently with rxsoil, a cool soil testing company that is very quick in response. We sent our soil out and just a few days later the results were in. One of our many projects has been to ammend the soil in our lower field, it is the largest flat area on the property. It has been a challenge because it is a clay area that accumulates water. The work that has been done to it, adding mushroom compost, and adding decomposed mulch for better drainage and organic matter. We had done that before the soil test was done. According to the soil test we still need to add potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and micronutrients. The rxsoil company is pretty neat, they ask the size of the area and they give you the amount of additives to use and when to apply. We have yet to add all the good stuff, but will keep everyone posted on the results. I want to use the area for cosmos and zinnias. And I still need to find space for my dahlias. Lots of projects happening around here.
Thanks for reading and look forward to connecting with other gardeners. Until next time 😀 and please if you have experience in amending clay soil and flower farming please leave us a comment 👍 we love any advice and garden talk.
❤The Winchenbaughs
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