My work garden is in a pretty terrible place. It’s in a frost pocket and about 1’ above a swamp. I don’t know if it was the result of golf course construction or poor management before I worked there, but the soil was garbage. Packed clay with no life, devoid of topsoil. Pretty much any rain would puddle on top of the soil.
Over the past 5 or 6 years I have put down innumerable yards of compost and wood chips to build up the soil. Cover crops are used when I can.
This picture is a shovel deep hole, you can see the original soil below the improved soil. It is now at least 6" taller than the surrounding area. I use the wood chips in permanent alleys and heap compost in the rows.
It takes some work, but any soil can be improved! It drains wonderfully and doesn’t flood even after 4" of rain. Tons of soil life. Now if only I could do something about the frost pocket.
Even the alley soil has been built up dramatically:
Years ago friends would give me a pickup load of manure for my birthday present, I was so well known for chasing the stuff. I would fill the back of my old Datsun station wagon with manure, and once I borrowed an old Chevy flatbed and brought in several yards. You’ll never regret it!
Great work. I must say building great soil, with tremendous drainage and soil life, is almost as satisfying as harvesting the crops. I can almost imagine your smile when you took that shovel full out and peered below.
Do you ever have concerns about herbicides in the manure or do you have a source you know is pristine? It seems I keep hearing more and more people running into trouble with manure they thought was okay. Often the horse people had no idea or were even promised the hay field was “organic”. It has left me afraid to pursue anything from local stables.
I have several ‘piggy banks’ going. I have a pile of manure, a pile of woodchips, a pile of leaves, This is a great time of year to add to the banks as it is all trash to those that have it.
I really like that orange shovel…where did you get it? The best one that i have found is at Rural King… has an aluminum scoop and a fiberglass handle… its a necessity when going to the banks.
For those of you that have woodchip piles… be aware that mice love to live in them if you dont disturb for awhile. I found this out as i was getting some scoops and found two rat snakes working the pile. Scared the crap out of me but the rat snakes were doing what rat snakes do…
I don’t recommend the long handled one, it’s hard to keep it from rotating and dumping on you. They also have a fork version that works well for moving wood chips.
I do all of mine by hand…also wheelbarrow… its part of my exercise anyways. On a good day mulching all of my berry plants and trees is like a full hot yoga session
I guess i am going to have to save up some money to buy a steel scoop… you cant buy them in stores as far as i can tell. $80 for a shovel is the new norm i guess.
My aluminum one is doing ok but i want the pushing power of my foot on some occasions and the aluminum wont allow that…it flexes and wants to bend.
Some people call them coal shovels… i cant imagine shoveling coal with plastic or aluminum…
I am also looking for a better wheel barrow. I have a Kobalt one with alot of miles… they dont make em like they used to.
These poly scoops are excellent, they are pretty much unbreakable and lightweight. You can drive over them without damage. We use them at the golf course and they last remarkably long for the abuse they receive.
I don’t know where you can get a coal shovel now, but it’s worth almost any price. I have one my grandfather used - to shovel coal of all things!. It has a very thin edge that is good for scrapping, and in 80 years (his use and mine) it has never bent. I’ve used it for everything that needs to be picked up on a hard ,flat surface. It is a bit heavier than aluminum or poly, but I don’t foresee ever replacing it. I wouldn’t drive over it though.
