Early chilly time is an ideal moment to start off a new garden or increase the old one, and obtaining the soil in shape is always the first step. Mort's "lazy technique" of feeding new soil and organizing the seed bed makes preparing your spring garden a delight. When I bought the 150-plus year-old house and 100 acres in Maine in 1969, I had no thoughts of be coming a back-to-the-lander. It was an investment. Then, I fell in love that same year with Barbara, and a few years later with the land. We have been living in the now 175-plus year-old house since 1972 and we are currently planning our 24th garden.
In many methods, not much has occurred to us during that time. Our phone number and address are the same, but the lifeless elms that surrounded the house when we bought it were used for firewood years ago and replaced with maples. They were twigs when we planted them. Now they tower over us, as do our children. And our garden this year will be in the same place the first one was.
Smashing Soil
There are two jobs that will need to be done just before planting season commences: A seed bed needs to be prepared and the soil requires to be fertilized. Our very first garden was hand dug with a spade. That's the way my father prepared his garden. If he could do it, so could I. I was searching it for Barbara to plant half a dozen tomato plants. Converting sod to garden soil is not an easy task but hand-digging is not the worst procedure. As I remember, I even appreciated it. I would have to jump on the spade with all my weight to cut through the mat of grass and roots. The first spadeful had to be cut on all four sides before it could be dislodged and turned. But it got less difficult. The second spadeful only had to be cut on three sides and after the first row was turned it only took two jumps to turn a clump of sod.
Then each clump had to be banged against the spade to separate the soil from the roots. I doubt that I took more than an hour to prepare yourself that first garden. It was small, but it took the tomato plants Barbara had acquired with plenty of room to spare. I planted a few potatoes right out of the kitchen just to see if they would grow.
There are a number of benefits to switching the garden by hand rather than using a machine. Most desirable to me is the calm. It's just me and the spade. I work at my own pace. Barbara says she likes to see me leaning on a garden tool contemplating who-knows-what. I do a lot of hovering just to captivate her. It's also good workout. You feel a special sense of achievement. You don't do violence to the soil. More earthworms endure. It's inexpensive. But perhaps the very best advantage is that you will not end up with a first garden that is too big and, ultimately, discouraging.
In many methods, not much has occurred to us during that time. Our phone number and address are the same, but the lifeless elms that surrounded the house when we bought it were used for firewood years ago and replaced with maples. They were twigs when we planted them. Now they tower over us, as do our children. And our garden this year will be in the same place the first one was.
Smashing Soil
There are two jobs that will need to be done just before planting season commences: A seed bed needs to be prepared and the soil requires to be fertilized. Our very first garden was hand dug with a spade. That's the way my father prepared his garden. If he could do it, so could I. I was searching it for Barbara to plant half a dozen tomato plants. Converting sod to garden soil is not an easy task but hand-digging is not the worst procedure. As I remember, I even appreciated it. I would have to jump on the spade with all my weight to cut through the mat of grass and roots. The first spadeful had to be cut on all four sides before it could be dislodged and turned. But it got less difficult. The second spadeful only had to be cut on three sides and after the first row was turned it only took two jumps to turn a clump of sod.
Then each clump had to be banged against the spade to separate the soil from the roots. I doubt that I took more than an hour to prepare yourself that first garden. It was small, but it took the tomato plants Barbara had acquired with plenty of room to spare. I planted a few potatoes right out of the kitchen just to see if they would grow.
There are a number of benefits to switching the garden by hand rather than using a machine. Most desirable to me is the calm. It's just me and the spade. I work at my own pace. Barbara says she likes to see me leaning on a garden tool contemplating who-knows-what. I do a lot of hovering just to captivate her. It's also good workout. You feel a special sense of achievement. You don't do violence to the soil. More earthworms endure. It's inexpensive. But perhaps the very best advantage is that you will not end up with a first garden that is too big and, ultimately, discouraging.
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