19 November 2009

Dig It!

We couldn’t help noticing during last week’s garlic-planting session, that in spite of our best efforts, the raised beds were looking a little squished.  In need of a bit more soil.

Thursday therefore, saw us stomping en ligne to a newly-acquired heap of healthy soil that had been dumped in an area under the trees.  Our job; to fill buckets with spades full of crumbly soil which would be lugged over and emptied on top of the needy beds.

First we would need to learn the correct back-saving way of using a ‘proper’ spade.

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Grip the handle and then carefully place one booted foot on top of the blade.

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Push gently so that the blade slides down into the soil. 

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Wiggle the spade backwards and forwards to loosen the soil, and then, gripping the handle with two hands (while making sure you don’t forget to bend at the knees) carefully lift the spade, complete with its load of soil…..

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and dump it into a bucket.  When a bucket is full, find a strong friend to help you carry it…..

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across to the garden.

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Keep your eyes open while digging – we don’t want too much grey sticky clay to end up in our soil-mix!

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