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TheWaterbug
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Double-digging myself into a corner . . .

This morning I almost finished double-digging this bed for sweet potatoes:

[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/SweetPotatoBed_w.jpg[/img]

I just have to finish leveling it out and picking out some of the big, leftover clods. The right edge of the bed is actually pretty close to the black irrigation hose. The soil's just lighter colored there because it's had a few days to dry out, whereas the darker stuff I turned over this morning. So the whole bed is about 10' x 20'.

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do anything in the middle of the bed without squashing it down and undoing all my hard work. If I step on it right now, I sink in to about my ankles. There's about a 2' strip against the retaining walls at the right and rear that I can walk on, since I couldn't dig into the concrete footings :D.

Should I strap tennis racquets to my feet? Snowshoes? Lay a piece of plywood down? Turn back time and think about this _before_ I dig the bed?
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applestar
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A board or a piece of plywood as you said is the usual recommendation.

... :shock: you did this in ADDITION to the weeding you mentioned elsewhere? :shock:
Flatlander_MB
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crawl out to the middle flat on your belly so your weight is equally distributed. :D
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TheWaterbug
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applestar wrote:... :shock: you did this in ADDITION to the weeding you mentioned elsewhere? :shock:
Not all in one morning! Several mornings scattered across two weeks. I have to wait for the blisters to heal before I can get new ones.
orgoveg
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This is my "bridge" for walking across my small garden. You could do the same thing with a wider board (say, a 2x8) and wider "feet". With one end up against the wall, the soil would only get compacted a little around the edges.

Just a thought...

[img]https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh194/abaction/gardenbridgerzd.jpg[/img]
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TheWaterbug
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orgoveg wrote:This is my "bridge"
That's a _great_ idea. I'll have to see if I have a long enough piece of wood lying around. I might have have to do a "two span" bridge with an island in the middle, but that would be better than just sinking into the quicksand :)
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Kisal
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This is why beds are usually made a maximum of 4' wide, with a walkway of some sort between them. That allows you to walk down the walkway and reach to the middle of the bed to do whatever weeding, etc. is needed. ;)
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jal_ut
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Oh my gosh! It is not going to hurt your garden to walk on it. In fact it would be good if you did. After putting seed in the ground, it is always advisable to step on the soil to firm it, remove air pockets, conserve moisture, and place the seed in good contact with the soil so it can get water from the soil. Watch a farmer work his fields, after planting he pulls a roller over the field to firm the soil. Many times the roller is hooked to the drill that drops the seed.
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jal_ut
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[url=https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/Planting/planting.htm]Planting[/url]
mscratch
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I couldnt balance my old self on a board lol so I just get in there and plant and then rake my foot prints over when I am done most times.. I have always tamped the seed row down with the flat part of my hoe after covering them over.
ruggr10
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You could always borrow Marty McFly's hoverboard. :P :P :P
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TheWaterbug
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jal_ut wrote:Oh my gosh! It is not going to hurt your garden to walk on it. In fact it would be good if you did. After putting seed in the ground, it is always advisable to step on the soil to firm it, remove air pockets, conserve moisture, and place the seed in good contact with the soil so it can get water from the soil. Watch a farmer work his fields, after planting he pulls a roller over the field to firm the soil. Many times the roller is hooked to the drill that drops the seed.
It just seems like I'm undoing all my hard work! I had a salad for lunch twice this week already, so I'm lighter than I was :P

Maybe I'll just try to walk down the center and make myself a little aisle to work from.
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farmerlon
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Soil compaction is not a good thing... Especially if you're dealing with heavy clay soils like I have in my garden.
Jal-Ut, I won't argue your methods, I've seen the pix of your great looking garden and produce. But, personally, I have to applaud the guys that are taking measures to not walk on their garden beds.
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jal_ut
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If you really don't want to walk on your beds, you best make your beds 4 or 5 feet wide and have walkways both sides so you can reach the center from the walkways. Its pretty easy for me to reach 30 inches, but some may have trouble with that. You could make a 3 foot bed by the wall then a walkway and a 4 or 5 foot bed on the other side of the walkway.


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