Digging up the garden

We're putting in a winter garden. I'm going through preparing a new bed that hasn't been a garden before. That involves:

• Finding the sprinkler lines so I don't injure one while digging
• Breaking up this sandy, claysome, Californian soil
• Adding organic material to it (some non-fertilized, non-chemical, organic-food-safe soil from Home Depot) and mixing it all up
• Adding drip watering lines from the hose spigot, because the sprinklers will cease being useful once plant leaves are getting in the way
• Planting
• Mulching (to keep in the moisture -- very important here in the desert)

This should allow enough time for some of my seeds to germinate. I've been trying to grow seedlings in peat pellets. So far, with a couple exceptions, only my peas are sprouting. I may have to resort to store-bought plants. I had no idea how differently different seeds come out of dormancy. Some need cool temperatures. Some need to go through a frost first. Some need to go through a fire first. Some need to pass through the intestines of an animal first. Some need moderate cycling temperatures. Some are light or dark sensitive. ... So I understand now why the plants are more expensive than the seeds. It's not easy to germinate seeds, and once you have the seedlings, they're relatively easy from there.

But I don't have to worry about that until my new garden bed is ready.

Elena likes helping plant the seeds in the peat pellets, watering them, looking at the seedlings, digging holes in the garden, finding pipes in the ground (digging up the sprinkler system), and such. She's mildly enjoying the whole process so far.