The 10' by 15' veggie garden bed is finally ready. I downsized it by 5' because it turned out to be much more work than I had hoped. The first blow came when the small rototiller I borrowed was not even close to the task of cutting through decades old sod. Ok, I thought, I'll turn the sod with a spade and then give it a go.
Nope. I had hoped the tiller would sort of just chew the remaining roots to shreds, but they were still too much for it to handle. Instead of shredding what was left of the chunks of sod, the grass roots just got tangled up in the tiller. I've never used a tiller on a garden that hadn't been previously tilled, so I'm not sure if I was off in my expectations or if the rototiller was just too small.
After a couple of hours of busting up clods of sod with a spade and by hand, things seemed pretty clean of roots or anything else that would screw up the tiller. It was just a matter of a few passes to make sure everything was good and mixed in, some smoothing and grading, and the bed would be ready.
Naturally, at that point I managed to find a 3" stone that perfectly jammed the tiller. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to partially disassemble the thing to get it out. I pondered that over a beer and a smoke for a few minutes, and then decided to just finish things by hand. That chewed up the rest of the time I had for planting today, but it was ok to do some fairly mindless work on this nice day and the veggies will be planted tomorrow.
There may be a little ad lib action tomorrow, but I think 4 or 5 tomato plants, 4 bell pepper plants, carrots, green onions, radishes, green beans, and maybe some pole beans. This is a bit of a learning year for me, so we'll see how things fit.
Now, what to do about those pesky wabbits?
If the soil hasn't been tilled in a long time or ever, sodbusting with a small tiller is backbreaking. It will beat you up pretty good when you're not unclogging the tines. Anxious to see how you make out this season. The harvest is about to begin in earnest here 1300 miles to the south. The Golden Gophers get another shot at Baylor today. Go Gophers.
Posted by: Rob | May 31, 2009 at 07:36 AM
I'd like to see the Gophers get a shot at LSU. What happens if they beat Baylor and then later, LSU(not that I think that likely)? Do they both advance or is there another game?
I'll take some pics of the garden and post them tonight.
Posted by: Dave E. | May 31, 2009 at 12:05 PM
There would be another game. I think it would be scheduled for Monday afternoon. In the SEC tournament, LSU only had to beat undefeated Vandy once, though. I think they should have had to beat them twice but their championship game rules are different. A SEC tournament title might have gotten Vandy a higher seed or even a host opportunity. Double elimination should mean double elimination for ALL teams. Baylor has used almost all of their pitching. I think Minnesota will beat them today. I wish I could get a ticket to tonight's game. I'd leave now.
Posted by: Rob | May 31, 2009 at 12:20 PM
I might have to hit Bunny's tonight if they beat Baylor. That's about my only shot for watching it and still be able to have a beer.
Posted by: Dave E. | May 31, 2009 at 01:10 PM
i hates wabbits
i hates wabbits
i hates wabbits
Posted by: Mr. Bingley | June 01, 2009 at 06:49 AM
I'm trying something called "liquid fence". We'll see how it works.
Posted by: Dave E. | June 01, 2009 at 10:02 AM