Spring had arrived with weeks of endless sunshine and a rarely a drop of rain. Every part of me was itching to start seeds for the gardening season. While we continue to search for a home and garden, there was still plenty to work on. But before long, I had another excuse to drive to where we used to live--and thus visit the garden. For the last two weeks, I'd been working on a project at home.

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We had been looking for a garage to rent for months when we finally lucked out--and bought a garage. For the amount of renting a garage for four months, we are now owners of a building. The land belongs to the city. Buying a garage when we don't plan to stay feels weird but it was the economically sane solution. It also gave me a reason to practice some skills I hadn't used in a while.

But even while working on the garage, I itched to return to the garden.

I had actual gardening to do that day, but started with some carrying. There were many smaller items in the garden house still, so I filled up the cart, and dragged it to the car. The cart was a bit reluctant.

The sun was peaking through the clouds, so I switched to outside tasks instead. Well, once I'd convinced the cart to leave the garden house.

I'd stacked items against the fence, so I walked a few more rounds. Pepper was a bit confused by the back and forth. I'd always meant to even out the path a bit here, to have less of a steep path. I guess, now I never will.

I will still get to keep the most important promise to myself: I'll be able to leave these gardens in better shape than I found them.

I am slowly sorting my way through everything that is on the plots. What do I want to keep? What has to stay here? The gray bricks are great as edging. The red ones are in bad shape.

Taking apart the greenhouse beds feels weird--especially as there are technically still peppers in here. I am pretty sure everything in here is dead, though. No one watered over winter.

I also took down the compost bins. They are very far from pretty but they are functional. If we replace them, I can pass them on. If they stay here, they might never get used again. My forest garden was abandoned for more than a decade. And so far, there is no one who wants to take them over. I simultaneously prepare for someone taking over and no one touching the garden for the next decades. It does not help that I don't know what our next garden looks like.

I spread the compost out a bit to not leave the next owner with giant grass piles. I would like to flatten these out completely but as I've already taken the gardening tools, this will have to do. At least, I'm sure the local fauna is pretty diverse here, so I won't be breeding a bunch of rats in the open piles.

I also used the chance to get some soil for my berry bushes. There isn't much here yet but it'll do. Keep in mind that this compost was completely neglected all winter. The lid had fallen off. No one turned anything. I had to choose the slower composting method of neglect. But the finished compost that was there looked great. Who thought it was a good idea to take the tools home first? Ah, right, me.

I stacked the compost bin parts against the greenhouse wall. I'm moving everything as close to this end as possible. We give the other garden up first, so I start there until everything we want to take is stacked around the greenhouse. Garden days will include a lot of carrying things around this year.

I'd gotten enough soil to fill up the cardboard box that holds the two largest currant bushes. I have by now found two large containers from a friend that are large enough to hold these bushes. We'll get them through. I'm still looking for some more tropical fruit seeds to grow indoors but the German perennials are doing well.

Perennial plants, so plants that grow for multiple years, have a huge advantage over annuals: They get used to where they grow. In an annual, you have to save seeds to pass on the properties.

If you don't keep your berry bushes in pots an hour away from your home, they also require a lot less work. Some pruning and care instead of saving seeds, storing seeds, and growing the next generation.

I'm adding the straw from the greenhouse to the pots outside, as we've had very little rain this year. If we go from drought to downpour, I can always take the straw back out. For now, mulching is helpful. The straw both raises the temperature of the soil and retains moisture.

This is the third life of this straw. Neighbors gave it to me. It then covered the greenhouse ground. Now, it'll decompose in these pots.

Mulching is a huge part of keeping the garden happy. Bare soil isn't natural and should be avoided. We'll talk a lot more about mulch and healthy soils soon, both in gardens and on large agricultural fields.

I had little time left that day, so I rushed to dig up the regrown rhubarb (and thus didn't film it). I also harvested some corn salad, spinach, nettles, and deadnettles, but we'll talk about all of that next time.

So long, and thanks for being here. I am so glad you are still here. Leaving Youtube was hard--and lost me the little income I had. It was still the right choice.