You Have Black Soil?

Black soil is a type of soil that is rich in organic matter, clay, and iron. It is also known as black earth, black loam, or chernozem. Black soil is good for growing crops such as wheat, cotton, sugarcane, and vegetables. However, black soil can also be heavy, sticky, and prone to waterlogging. Therefore, it may need some amendments to improve its drainage, aeration, and fertility1 One way to amend black soil is to add a garden mix that contains ingredients such as sphagnum peat moss, perlite, coir, gypsum, limestone, wetting agent, and mycorrhizae. These ingredients can help loosen the soil, increase its water retention and porosity, adjust its pH, and enhance its microbial activity. A garden mix that contains these ingredients is the PRO-MIX Organic Garden Mix, which you can find more information about on its website2

Money Out of Pocket

It's amazing the amount of money that can be spent on keeping up a yard and garden.  Last year I remember investing large amounts just to keep the yard in city code shape and clean.  It means that if you want to have a yard that keeps standard viewing, then you are going to spend money on it.
My vegetable garden cost quite a bit of cash as well.  This leaves me to think about down sizing the coming year.  I did the type of garden one is accustomed to having in the years prior to now.  Back then you had a huge garden with all types of vegetables to support the coming harvests.  Today, it's not feasible to have such a garden considering the things that just won't grow right in certain soils and the weather.  Certain soils take a large amount of mulch to get it in shape for planting seasons.  I'm one person who is not young anymore.  I have to pay people to come and do the heavy work for me.  Here in you have more expense. 
This coming year I am considering having raised beds that can be easier controlled.  The harvest will be less but I'm sure the area involved will produce better.

Portable Shed

This is just what I need to store some of my equipment.  The shed I have is full of all kinds of stuff, that I have moved out of the house.  This would be perfect to set up in the yard, as long a the high winds wouldn't blow it over.