“Glad to see you doing it by the book” commented Bill as he watched Barry and I struggle digging out the confused and coagulated weed roots.
Digging, old skool.
Well, as I explained to Eamon yesterday, it’s a modified version of the single dig. Dig a trench; collect the spoil; fill the trench from behind; fill the last trench with your original spoil.
Except, in my version, I’m digging out the trench spade-by-spade (actually fork-by-fork) into my barrow and spending several minutes picking out the roots and chopping up the soil. After filling the barrow, the spoil is tipped back in the trench.
It’s bloody hard work. But, it could save forever picking out ground elder and doc weeds. And, as I see it, it’s giving the soil some good structure.
Digging, old skool.
Compare: some of the neighbours.
Blue overalls at number 7: rotovating and mechanical tilling; fake looking soil though you have to admire his horse poo.
George, the newcomer: more rotovating by a helper, no less; benefited from the previous tenant’s plastic covering; fake soil, might as well be astroturf; no callouses from digging, no back ache or pins and needles down the arms.
Give me proper, man-powered digging.
Gardening, old skool.
Just ask my ‘helper’.
I’m with you on this one. Rotovating is wrong – it’s for farmers not gardeners. Give me back ache and blisters any day!
Can I have me blackbird back please? And yes all a rotovator does is to chop up the roots and give you twice as many. Oh and it doesn’t remove rusty nails from the soil.