Adding leaves and soil to the clear tote #1

It is 40 degrees but calm, so I checked the tote with the plastic tunnel house over it to see if it was keeping it any warmer, as we have had an ice storm and cold weather since I put it on.  The sun was out this morning, but I don't get a lot of sun because of that tree, which thankfully the city has given permission to take down.  The temp inside it was 50 degrees, so it is warmer, though not as much as I hoped.  I think that will improve once we start getting full sunlight from the east in the mornings and when the sun moves further to the north as the days go by.

I took some pictures as I went along.  I wanted to add some half-and-half leaves/soil mixture to the tote.  I took a picture to show its volume before beginning.  You can see my peanut butter jar that has the entire bottom cut out serving as a worm tower.  I just put that in the other day.  I put down 4-5 banana peels cut up in fine pieces and some coffee grounds and coffee filters before adding the new leaves/soil.

Using a 5-gallon bucket, I filled it nearly half full with crushed leaves, but I didn't press the leaves down.  I then added garden soil from a 40-lb bag that I purchased when I purchased all of the tunnel supplies the other day.  I chose to use garden soil instead of potting soil because 1) it is cheaper, and 2) I'm adding a lot of compost to it.  I mixed the soil and the leaves together pretty good, but it is not quite half-half as I have more leaves than soil.  Here are pictures after I added the first bucket to the tote.  I removed the worm tower before I added the extra leaves/soil and lifted it a couple of inches higher than it was. The garden soil was plenty wet so I didn't add any extra water.

 Then I did another bucket of leaves and dirt in the same way and added that to the tote.

That is as full as I'm going to till this tote as when I plant I need room to put the drip line as well as add a layer of mulching on top.  When I plant, I will thoroughly mix all the content of the tote.

Since this is my shortest tote height wise, I have it on the north end of the patio so it will be at the end of the drip line.  I plan to put some winter crops that vine in this tote, maybe some peas, and then follow up with melons.  The vining plants will be planted at the back of the tote (north) and I may put some other plants in the front of the tote, such as onions and garlic.

I will build the tunnels for the totes as I have money for supplies and the weather permits, and add to their content when I do so.

Cost of Materials so far:
Leaves - free, gathered
Shredded paper/cardboard - free, from my own boxes
Totes - Varying prices, from $4.99.  7 totes.
Soil - free, leftover from 2019 buckets
PEX tubing for tunnel - $4.59 from Skaggs Ace hardware
10'x25' clear poly film 6-ply - $29.99
40-lb bag Miracle Grow garden soil - $8.99