Dig Dig Dig...

Two updates in a day...this is more of a "catch-up" entry. While waiting for the 203K work to get started, I figured I'd start a garden...

I've wanted to grow vegetables and fruits in a garden for a while. The last few places I've lived have been poor places to grow. The condo I live in only receives direct sunlight for about 2-3hrs a day, and the apartment before that was in permanent shade. This has its advantages in that it doesn't get terribly hot in the summer months, but without grow lights or elaborate reflectors, gardening for edibles becomes somewhat difficult.

The back yard dirt is primarily hard pack. Most of the yellow stuff is just dead weeds.  Raking it cleared a nice patch near the deck.  Jamming a shovel into the ground, even while jumping on it, only gives about 1 to 2". I thought about a raised bed or lasagna gardening, but I have this bad habit of doing things in one of the most difficult ways possible (first time home purchase with a full 203k, taking a full-time course load while working full-time to take advantage of tuition reimbursement fully, raising a dog with severe separation anxiety while being single living in an apartment with limited income, etc) and for preparing the garden, I figured I'd go the double-digging route. Armed with the knowledge gained from YouTube videos, a shovel, and a spade fork, I set off to work thinking I could finish off four 10 foot rows in a day.

In widths of about 30", I dug the top soil down to about 3-4", and set it aside. I took the spade fork and worked at loosening the subsoil down to about 12", mixed in some compost, then refilled the hole with the topsoil from the next 20" section.   Half a day later, punctuated with lunch and an outing for my dog, I was done with one row about 14ft long. I probably could have used a tiller but a) I didn't have one, b) Even with Amazon Prime, I wouldn't receive it until AFTER the weekend, and c) it wasn't the most difficult way possible.

I went at it again and managed to get through another row the next day.  The easiest (relatively speaking) way to get through the layer of hard pan was to try to break through it in the middle of each 20" section, then use the shovel as a lever to break it up.  The dirt underneath was a bit tough too, but gave way much easier than that "hard as hell" layer in between...a few blisters, dehydration, and a lot of fatigue later, I was done with another row...

And, I decided to plant strawberries...which wilted a few days later...even though I mulched to increase water retention.  Maybe I just didn't water enough...I thought I had read 2 days a week would be sufficient, but I'm thinking maybe the double digging made the soil drain too much.  I've been back every day to water and the plants seem to be doing far better...

Hoping to get some late summer/fall vegetables planted in a few weeks time...