I headed out to the backyard today and ended up getting into a day-long project. There’s this patch of dirt up next to the house that was empty except for some weeds. I decided it would be a good place for a small shaded garden. I began by digging out the weeds, which was quite a chore in itself. There was also a stump of an old shrub to dig up. After that I began digging in to loosen up the soil. After the first few inches the dirt was really compacted. I didn’t get the digging finished because my back was starting to get sore. Tomorrow I’ll go back out to dig up the rest. We had some edging stones left in the garge from another project and I’m going to use those to make a raised bed.
The soil is going to need a lot of work. It’s sandy and dry. I read about green manure in one of my gardening books and got some corn salad to plant and then dig into the soil. I also brought buckwheat for overwintering. By spring I hope the soil will be ready for planting.
The Gnomestead 