I've grown garlic mulched both ways; Spring & Fall. SSE uses Fall mulching on their garlic, right after planting. I used straw one year, Fall mulched... it was a disaster. Too much wheat seed was in the straw, it was a major weeding task in Spring. Now I mostly mulch with green marsh hay in Spring; far fewer weeds, and the hay decomposes faster, releasing nutrients to the garlic. Better still, use alfalfa hay, if you can find it. If you have the space to do so, it's better to buy green hay from the second cutting, and hold it over in a dry place until Spring... fewer weed seeds than the first cutting. I add fresh grass clippings on top of the hay, as it breaks down and/or is eaten by earthworms. Don't know about leaves; I would be concerned if they formed a soggy wet mat, just as I would for too many fresh grass clippings. In that case, I would pull the mat aside from the stems. Hopefully shredded leaves are OK. Fall mulching might be necessary for growing some of the less hardy garlics in our Northern neck of the woods; I find that softnecks & elephant garlic (which is not a true garlic) have the most winter-kill. Personally, if a variety can't make it here, I replace it with something hardier. Last of all, there is the question of frost heave. I've only had that problem when garlic was planted too late to establish a root system... but if it is a problem in your garden, then Fall mulching is probably necessary. Incidentally, I used no mulch on my garlic over the winter this year, and the emergence so far looks outstanding. I think that Fall mulching is most helpful when a thin/non-existent snow cover offers little protection from the cold... certainly not a problem this year! Probably more than you asked for, Alicate, guess I got carried away. :-)

If the fine bark mulch packs the water doesn't penetrate. You might try poking a few aeration holes with a garden fork or mixing in something chunkier, but that sounds like a lot of work. I don't know of an easy solution. We have places at our camp where years of bark mulch + plant roots have made it nearly impossible to dig a hole to plant bulbs in the fall or spring bedding plants yet the weeds will sprout & grow on top. We're improving one bed at a time with compost, used coffee grounds, shredded leaves, topped with the arborist chips like what we've done around our home. You might try raking it out further away from stems of plants so they get more moisture from the falling rain. Piling it up a bit thicker around plants that don't mind thick mulch. Be careful around rhodies who don't. I don't know if it helps to describe our gardens as we have a similar climate since I'm in western WA. That dry spell a few weeks ago was unusual and I did water more than usual because I had seedlings and transplants that needed our usual May drizzle. I keep about 2-4" of mulch either composted manures + animal bedding (usually sawdust or wood shavings) + aged arborist wood chips. I stopped using bark after reading about the packing problem or hearing Ciscoe Morris talk about it. I can't remember which. I liked the uniform look of the orange bark, but got used to my new methods and after a few weeks of growth in spring I no longer see the mulch no matter what I use. My gardens have matured and I also grow plants closer, so less mulch is needed. I have to really look closely to see the soil on the beds this time of year if that helps describe how closely. I can only mulch after November or before April or I can't get in the beds to walk or apply it. I do a poke test with my finger before watering and as long as we have some rain every week I can skip it. During July & August I will put on the sprinkler over the grass & let it go beyond to the rhodies, hostas, & daylilies, but not much else gets watered except for edibles. It sounds like you will figure out what to do about the bark & poking the soil is always the best way to tell if the soil needs water. This year we've laid out some sprinkler hoses for some of the strawberries, rhubarb, potatoes, & apple trees so I won't have to hand water them and since we ran out of soaker hoses as well as water pressure. I alternate what gets watered on what days come our summer drought. I was thankful we had them handy when we had those 2 weeks of dry warm weather a few weeks ago just as the berries were growing larger. Hope that helps & happy gardening to you, Corrine

Large rocks probably should be removed, stones, pebbles most likely do not need to be. The soil particles you have came from those stones and pebbles. In addition to manure and the worm castings your soil will need vegetative waste, somewhere around 6 to 8 percent. With no indication about where in the world you are it is difficult to suggest sources other then there may be deciduous trees with leaves that will become available fairly soon. If you are in the USA your states Agricultural schools Cooperative Extension Service should be able to help with a good, reliable soil test for soil pH, P, K, Ca, Mg levels and these simple soil tests might also be of some help. 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

it is the standard 6Â round spa with 6 jets, raised 12" above the pool with a 2Â 6" spillway we haven't gotten in it yet because of we were told to wait awhile till plaster and acid and chemicals have all did whatever they are suppose to do but anyway I do not know the height of the bench and it is not in my paperwork but it looks like a good idea due to people are of all different heights and they could find a comfty spot themselves and it looks like plenty of leg room but I don't think more than 4-5 people should sit in it or it would be too tight a fit since no one can sit where the spillway is in mine and there is a higher bench you can see in the picture guess that is for a little kid or a tall drink!! there is water covering it. talk to your pb or maybe someonelse on this site knows they may put this kind of bench in all spa's I just don'tknow...good luck with everything.