I came back in 30 minutes later feeling a bit less optimistic.
I ended up raking back an area of about 10X5. I wasn't sure how I was going to transfer the leaves over to the compost area since it is about a 30 foot distance, depending on where you stand in the garden area. I ended up going with filling the old leaf/lawn bags that I had saved from the fall. This sounds like a good idea until you realize that the leaves now weigh about triple what they did in the fall because, unlike in the fall, they are all very wet and compacted. So after filling up two of those bags and carrying them across the yard, I became discouraged that I might finish this project by the summer if I work at it for about 6 hours a day. I need a tarp.
 |
| 30 minutes of work. A patch of dirt. Impressed? |
Enter my good neighbor Chris. I have texted him on the status of borrowing a tarp to rake the leaves onto and then dragging them over to my compost area. We shall see!
Other news and notes:
In the fall when my dad and I were expanding the beds and turning over some dirt, I kept seeing these grey, papery and very old looking bulbs. We discarded as many as possible but just thought they might be old relics of humans past. I think we were wrong about the ancient looking part. After lifting some of the leaves in the area where we found the majority of these bulbs, I have discovered they are very much alive and very much sprouting up through the dirt. I pulled as many as I could see. Add that to the check list of things to do.
A positive note! I was able to check my PH levels in a few different areas of my garden and they all read right around 7. While that is slightly alkaline, it is well within the range of most plants growing conditions. Most plants usually thrive in the 6 to 7 range with only acid loving plants going below the 6.
While I am feeling a little overwhelmed at this point, I know that with some hard work, I'll be able to get it done in the next couple of weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment