Yesterday and today, I hauled compost from the woods and spread it over the garden. After that, I tilled the garden. In a few days I will need to spread leaf mould over the entire garden. That will help protect the dirt from wind erosion and it is just a nice covering for a garden for several reasons.
My Tiller
Side Note
In the top picture, the green plant on the right is a globe artichoke. If you look closely, you will see tomatoes around the artichoke. I had a stack of semi-rotting tomatoes behind the artichoke and I tilled over them [Gallagher tilling].
The untidy shrub on the top-right of the picture is Lemon Balm. After a few years, lemon balm makes thick woody roots. Moving one that is a few years old is like moving a tree.
Great Looking soil you have there. I’m envious, but maybe in a few years of gardening here at the house I will have soil like that….I didn’t know that about lemon balm, I will have to keep it in mind for the future.
I take care of the soil by adding compost to it, not store bought, but composted grass clippings and chopped leaves from our yard. We do not use anything unnatural on the yard, and that helps that the resulting compost is as natural as it can be.
You’ve been busy! Your dirt is lovely. Nice tiller, too (and clean!).
We’ve had the tiller for a long time [>10 years]. It’s not been used every year. When the garden is mulched with a 3-5 inch layer of semi-composted chopped leaves, I only have to turn the garden every other year.
That looks nice! I can smell the rich soil from here. lol I didn’t know Lemon Balm got woody roots. Is the herb still good at that point?
The lemon balm is still good on an older plant, it is just a pain to move. The top dies down when it gets really cold, several degrees colder than freezing and it grows back each year with new branches. The bush is usually a 2.5′ [or greater] globe. Mine is irregular because I put a cage next to it and the stems grew up through it.