...winter slumber. Any fertilization we provide will be to mulch with chicken manure, seaweed, and compost. These soil-building materials will be slowly adding to the nutrient base rather than stimulating new growth. Plants store much of their food...

...excavation also allows us to have access to this valuable resource. The peat that underlies the muskeg is marvelous soil building material -- my own garden and landscape is built on a mixture of this partially decomposed vegetation and enough gravel...