Rocky's a digger! |
It's important that the gardens be tilled up at the end of the growing season. Our tiller is in the shop, so Rocky is doing his part.
We do a fairly deep tilling in the fall. Although the garden soil is much improved after two years of adding compost and rotted manure, and mulching with straw, it still benefits from tilling up the deeper clay layer. Over winter, the rain and wind will erode the complex structure of the clay clods.
I've talked to a lot of folks who've told me they'd like to grow veggies but can't on account of the Mississippi clay. What poppycock. That excuse does not hold water. Clay does. That's why the roots of the tomato that Rocky was busy digging out went down so far-- to the clay layer. When we till, we're trying to incorporate more of that clay layer into the top 6-8" of soil.
I've talked to a lot of folks who've told me they'd like to grow veggies but can't on account of the Mississippi clay. What poppycock. That excuse does not hold water. Clay does. That's why the roots of the tomato that Rocky was busy digging out went down so far-- to the clay layer. When we till, we're trying to incorporate more of that clay layer into the top 6-8" of soil.
I'll be glad we did all of this next Spring. Well worth the effort.
Thanks Rocky!
He sure looks like a hunting hound I had once upon a time... does he "bugle"?
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