Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Friday, March 13, 2009

Spreading the dirt.

This afternoons temperatures rose into the 50's, just perfect for a little gardening. Last year, when we constructed the raised beds and filled them with dirt, we added some compost, but I am of the opinion it was not enough. We are fortunate in being able to do a trade with a friend who has a landscaping business. We allow him to park some of his heavy equipment on our 10 acre property, and in return, he brings us compost, topsoil, or whatever we need. Today's chore was to bring wheelbarrow loads from the pile of compost, and spread them on the raised beds. I managed to get one large, and one small bed covered and mixed in, the third bed has the compost dumped on top, but I am out of energy to mix it in.
I can remember the days, and it doesn't seem that long ago, when I would work out in the garden from very early in the morning until dusk, with just a short lunch break, Growing old is not for sissies!
Note the bright yellow handle of my garden fork, on the lower edge of the raised bed. I think my idea to paint them that color is going to pay off.




6 comments:

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I love seeing that rich black compost! I'm hoping to get a load of it here in the next month or so. It is a lot of work, but at least it's worth the work!

Anonymous said...

Wow, KeeWee, What a great way to get free compost and soil. You're going to have a wonderful garden.

They're saying rain this weekend but I don't believe them. (I like my denial.)

Lona said...

What a wonderful deal Keewee. My dad use to tell me to "never gret old" I tried but alas it did not work. My mind says go, my body says no :)
The yellow was a very good idea.

Cate said...

Love raised beds! I've got 2 and would love for my hubby to make 8 more! Our temps are about the same right now. It was 50 degrees today!
Spring is finally here!
I have a orange handled soil knife that I have had for 5 years now!
Bright yellow will definately work!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

It's good you have room to add the compost. I hope things grow well this season for you! I read your post about treated wood. We went through some of that when we put a raised bed in the back yard for herbs. I can't remember what kind of wood we ended up with.

tina said...

You are way fortunate to be able to work a trade! What a treat-and good deal for both of you. Nothing better than a big fresh load of compost or manure.