When I had envisioned this gardening endeavor, I had imagined
puttering among the plants, the birds chirping, the sun shining,
and me gently patting baby plants into place.
When I had envisioned this gardening endeavor, I had imagined puttering among the plants, the birds chirping, the sun shining, and me gently patting baby plants into place.
I hadn’t imagined yardwork that would leave me sore and in need of a nap. Gardening involves hand tools; yardwork involves rakes, shovels and brooms. I’ve done my share of yardwork; it’s the gardening I was after.
This weekend, however, I got hours full of yardwork when I double-dug my future garden plot.
Obviously, I know digging is a lot of work, and I was expecting as much, which is why I put it off for a couple of weeks. But I didn’t think it would consume three and a half hours. I would have cheered and waved my arms in the air when it was over if it didn’t hurt so much to lift them overhead.
But I did it – I spread a layer of compost and commenced digging my trenches. According to my book (“How to Grow More Vegetables …” by John Jeavons … the title is way too long to include here), I was supposed to dig an initial trench 12 inches deep, set the dirt aside, then loosen the 12 inches of dirt at the bottom of the trench. Then I was to dig a trench next to the first one and use that dirt to fill the first trench, and so on, to provide a light, fluffy bed for my plants.
I started out with the best of intentions, but I think even my initial trench was only about 8 inches deep, and the farther along I got, the shallower the trenches became. Still, when I finished double-digging my 2-foot-by 22-foot plot, I was satisfied with the dirt’s fluffiness. Plus, it was level, which it hadn’t been at any time I’ve lived here.
I sprinkled fertilizer over the plot and worked it in the top 1 to 3 inches, as the instructions stated, but I didn’t water. That’s because, as I am now keenly atuned to nature because of my gardening endeavors, I looked at the sky, noticed the immense rain clouds and predicted rain. I also figured that if it didn’t rain, the drip irrigation system that’s set to a timer would take care of everything.
I could have done more to the soil – I could have gotten its pH tested; I could have added separate amendments based on the type of soil I have. But I’m not going to. As far as I’m concerned, the yardwork part of this experiment is over. Now begins the gardening.
I’ll let you know how it goes with the gentle patting of baby plants into the plot.
If you’ve got tips, comments or would like to commiserate about double-digging, e-mail Colleen Valles at cv*****@**********rs.com or call (408) 842-9505.
