Problem: The soil here is a convenient substitute for concrete if you run short. I know that sounds like hyperbole--perhaps it is--but seriously, any effective digging involves a three pound mattock or pick axe. After we moved here, I bought a new transfer shovel with which (I thought) I could plug up sod for a new flower bed. After I bent the blade, I returned it to Sears--or should I say Kmart?--and resigned myself to composting the mangled sod (and to shelling out the extra money for a better shovel next time).
Solution: I hauled in five yards of material to amend the soil last september (three yards mushroom compost and two yard decomposed granite sand), spread it over a 10' x 30' plot and tilled it thoroughly. That's six inches of soil amendment. In place of hard gray clay, I now have a fluffy brown loam.
I've divided the plot into 4' sections with 2' walkways. I prepped the first section today and planted some heirloom multiplying onions generously given me by Cliff M., a friend back in Florida.
Cliff tells me these onions multiply by putting out stalks with small bulbs on the ends (like a walking onion) and also multiply vegetatively through the roots. Heirlooms like this are part of what makes vegetable gardening worthwhile. I'm glad that the first vegetables in our new garden came from the hand of a friend and not just from a seed packet. Despite the bitter cold, a couple of celebrities even turned out for the occasion.
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