Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe plant a garden. I figured it would be a good time, get some fresh veggies, thought the kids would enjoy it...
So, first problem is our soil is bad. Not like, "that needs some fertilizer," kind of bad, but BAD. As in you put water on it and it stays there until it evaporates... caleechee kind of bad. Which, of course means that I had to excavate in order to get good drainage. This had been advised by a neighbor who had dug down 3 feet and back filled with abc, sand and then top soil. Well, I wanted it slightly elevated so that the kids would have some clear borders of where the gardens are, so I decided to go down 2 and up 1. Sounds easy enough right?
Have you ever swung a 5 lbs pick axe and watched it bounce? Ever seen sparks come off the blade when it didn't hit a rock? No bueno. So I soaked it. Two inches of water evaporated after two days and it penetrated... well okay, it didn't penetrate at all. More pick axe. I called Home Depot to see how much it is to rent, get ready for this, a jack hammer (which is how my neighbor got down 3 feet). Well, it's $55 a day. If you want the "clay spade" that's another $8. If you actually USE the clay spade, you have to pay another $8 for a "reconditioning fee". Nice, eh?
So I decided to give the pick axe another go last night. We finally broke through the caleechee at about 10-12 inches. There the clay is much softer, more like normal clay. Nice eh? We have 2, 4 foot by 8 foot gargens. One is about 18 inches down, mayb 22 at the deepest point. The good news is that the water is actually being absorbed now. I filled up the other one last night in a vein attempt to get it to loosen up, it's only at about 6 inches.
I got the kids to come out last night and shovel for me. They had a good time and were actually pretty effective. I put more water in them last night and I'm hoping it will be soaked in by tomorrow night and I'll be back out with the pick axe and the shovels.
Gardening is tough stuff!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Gardening
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4 comments:
You might wish to consider these alternatives:
1. Host a weekend "party" in which you invite some strong and light in the head friends over just to commune with nature (must provide at least some refreshments)
2. There used to be a certain spot in downtown Queen Creek where some folks would gather periodically and would on occasion agree to help out with home projects ( unless sheriff Joe has been there recently) Not that I would ever approve of anything smacking of being shady..
3. You might consider a new basketball court made from newly poured concrete.
By the way, I may be busy that weekend in case you choose #1.
Absolutely hilarious!! Sorry Keith. I just got my beds ready yesterday. It took a couple hours. Our problem is that we just have too much beautiful black soil...What to do, what to do...
And yes, I tried to garden a bit when we lived in AZ and I also remember digging for irrigation. It was not fun.
K.
Thanks for the ideas, Bill. Sorry to see you're chickening out on the volunteer weekend though. Actually I think I've abused all of my friends enough with the five moves in two years thing... yeah.
You know, Kristen, I thought about you guys when I was swinging my pick ax like a mad man and my pathetic arms had turned into mush. You guys may have rich black soil, but I got the benefit of a full workout. Aerobic and muscle building all at the same time.
Actually I'm hoping for a much easier time once I get the pits dug, filled in with abc, sand and top soil. Then plant, water, kill the rabits that get in and eat the plants, shoot the birds that come in and steal the fruits of my labor, and finally sit down to the table and eat the one baby carrot that survived. That is, if the kids don't get it first.
Gotta love gardening.
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