Digging the garden

This is the year of “no no-dig” I feel. Part of growing for me is the digging, I actually quite enjoying it and sometimes it feels strange that there are whole groups and movements suggesting my life will be better without digging. I can understand the concept and the idea of mulching with compost over and over is something that makes sense and is a good thing to do. Last year showed me that the undug ground underneath was hard like concret, this should not be a problem if you continue to pile on mounds of new compost over and over, making it more into a raised bed that has no sides. I’m thinking a bit of both, dig over so you have a good bed, mulch with compost through the year – which is what I’ve done previously.

You would think working from home allowed you to see the garden a bit more and this was certainly the case through the summer where we mostly lived in the garden it seemed. In the winter, I still get up when it is dark, I eat lunch when it is starting to get dark, and I finish work when it is dark once again. Suddenly the disconnect with the garden is there in just the same way it is when I bike 10 miles in the dark to an office to work by myself all day and then bike 10 miles back in the dark. That and the fact that the garden will not get direct sun on the beds for another two months, means there is not much going on.

Garlic is growing, some onions are growing, turnips kale are being used, parsnips are waiting to be dug up. I need to get some more poo to put on top and level it all, but I also need to tidy things up. I dug over most of the bed and it looked a lot better for it, plus a bit of tidying up of the plants still there. I will get hold of some more bags of horse manure to bulk up one end and to dig in at the other. I sprinkled some blood, fish, and bone around the garlic.

The bed is of course not finished, I could not continue edging it earlier on in the year as it had planted growing and in the way. I’m waiting for the turnips to finish, and I’m waiting for dryer weather – it will be around March time I am sure. Like all good projects, it’s a long term one.

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