Tired of digging

I am now officially tired of digging for a few weeks. Promised my daughter I would extend the flower section on one side but I have a while to get that done. It will be done before spring, though.

Agency said the hospitals are empty. All agency nurses over the weekend were canceled. No outlook for tonight.

So I headed outside. As os now, the center of the garden is filled in and well treated with compost. At the deeper soil levels, I also used some ashes to help keep the clay loose.

Then went to work manually tilling the two last rows in the south garden plus several small sections which were not yet done. Part of this was the area I had most problems with this past summer. Turns out that just below the mounds it was completely clay. Like trying to dig through solid brick. May dig it out in the future to rectify but for now I tilled and composted the mounds. Just plant things with shallow roots there this year. I had not added leaves to much of this section earlier, so added fairly raw compost (lots) today and hoed it in. Fertilized, watered and covered it back up.

If you've never tried manual tilling, let me warn you it is very hard to do. (Remember this is coming from a guy who just dug up over 700 sq ft of yard.) I would not reccomend it unless you have very loose soil and/or a small section to do. Or have lots of time on your hands and want a real upper body workout! To get an idea, look up a picture of a manual tiller and imagine using for a large garden. It has a center spike and 4 peripheral spikes. You dig it into the soil and turn to loosen things up. Any roots will be ripped loose in the process. In hard soil, you go a few inches down and keep repeating to desired depth. For best results, overlap each successive spot tilled. After a few hundred square feet, go grab the muscle cream and some aspirin. You'll need it.

I re-measured the garden. Turns out current measurements come out to 995 sq ft. Size is a bit smaller because of picnic table placement and because I am leaving one area alone this year. Not going to dig up the spot where the new shed will eventually be. However, that size is dynamic. It does not include potting areas or any of the front yard, where I will again try the pumpkin and corn thing this year. I'll also be planting trees and flowers in the front at some point.

Borrowed jumper cables from the ex yesterday. See if I can get the motor bike running tonight. If I can, I'll get a battery for it tomorrow. Just using the car battery to jump it tonight.