Day 11-And so it begins.

 I have not worked this hard in quite some time. I got out there this morning before the heat of the day, it was only 71 but I was working in the sun most of the time. First off, the person who takes care of the lemon tree decided to clear the leaves from under it and just leave them in the middle of the path.

There was another pile from the other side against the wall, what you couldn't just do the same thing here? Got the cultivator and used it as an improvised rake. Inconsiderate that she thinks she's hte only one in the garden despite evidence otherwise.

I am still trying to cool down and get my pulse and body down to normal.. 

Still no activity from the other seeds I planted dang it. If nothing comes up by the end of the weekend then I'll put in more seeds.

On to the digging. I realized I needed to open a plastic bag and had no knife on me. Right now realized I had my pruners and could have used those but instead remembered what the guys did when we were working up landscaping at the marine base. I used the cultivator to make a dotted line then the shovel to cut it open.

 

You can see the difference in color. This stuff is black and has a widely varying texture. Luckily no big chunks of wood but whatever people are expecting when they open this it is compost from various sources.

I dumped out about a third of the bag which was maybe two inches in spots. Then came the digging. I'm glad I've been doing stretches and push ups but it still didn't prepare me for the amount of work I did. I would dig in, turn it over, and repeat all over the bed to get it mixed as well as possible then added more.

On the left, before digging in, on the right... well let's just say that nothing is perfect. That's not a rock, that is a small bit of metal, likely aluminum. Nothing really alarming but it happens when you've got huge piles of soil being loaded by a tractor. Sometimes trash happens. I made sure to get it out and continue on.

 

Reversed pictures, after on the left and before on the right. No much difference in color which means not enough amendment. So... another third on and mix that in.

And I was wiped out by the end of that. Every time I heard a metallic strike on my shovel I would find the offending piece of stone and toss it out. Nothing bigger than a fingernail usually but still kind of important to not have any rocks in there.

Oh and even as careful as I was, I dug up the corner where the rose seeds were. Oh well. If they grow, they grow, if not no worries. So, cat deterrents in, soil in the corner and I left the bag of fertilizer down there thinking I would put more of that in with the rest of the soil. There is a big difference in color now compared to the surrounding dirt. It's hard to tell how much the volume has increased but it's almost level with the top of the border. If I'm going to plant potatoes the middle of the bed needs to be higher so I can dig a trench/hole to put them in. 

Tomorrow I will add the last of the soil and maybe some fertilizer water it all in and plant the potatoes by Sunday or Monday.

My hands are sore and Rocky wants his grass time. Might have pizza for lunch today. If I can drive that far.