I tried to turn the soil in the area I marked out for my new garden, but its very dense and compacted. I couldn't get the shovel in, much let turn the entire area I was thinking of. So --- change of plan: I will wait for spring and then construct raised beds and bring in new soil. That will give me the entire winter to plan.
I have a great new (old actually) book I am reading: Bob Thompson's , The New Victory Garden. The photos of his garden and its rich soil are amazing! To me a garden book should be about photos of dirt...
4 comments:
You are so right...it's all about the soil. When we travel I'm always grabbing a handful of the local dirt, smelling it, and squeezing it...
Rototill?
Kathy,
I have Bob Thompson's New Victory Garden too, but check out Jim Crockett's Victory Garden--the original. Lots of dirt in those photos too. There is a wealth of good advice and New England garden wisdom, set forth plainly but with a quaint charm. Just ignore the time-locked recommendations for use of pesticides and other non-organic practices. I'm sure Jim would be guiding us all in sustainable gardening were he alive today. (You can probably find Crockett's book on abebooks.com). Susan
So don't try to turn it, but do loosen it as much as possible with a digging fork as much as possible, then add lots of compost. You want to disrupt the boundary between the new material on top and the compacted region below. Then plants and time will do the rest. (Rototilling would only create a thin loose zone on top and worse compaction below.)
Post a Comment