{"id":5060,"date":"2022-03-06T13:21:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T13:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=5060"},"modified":"2024-02-08T09:32:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T09:32:12","slug":"home-garden-can-you-dig-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=5060","title":{"rendered":"DAYS iN: Home & Garden – Can You Dig It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Shot on iPhone \u2018pano\u2019. Can\u2019t see the near side!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Come on down to the big dig. Can\u2019t get around the big dig.\u2019 Don Van Vliet, aka Capt. Beefheart.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day that I can, I get out in to the garden. And I dig. It hasn\u2019t been easy recently, with a lot of rain. But most days that I haven\u2019t had full days of teaching work, I\u2019ve dug another narrow strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The light\u2019s a bit better here; one can see both sides!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The plan is to dig down about eight to ten inches, and then level out the ground as flat and horizontal as I can manage. The footing will be a foot thick, so higher than ground level by two to four inches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The floor of this dig will form the lower or under surface of the concrete pour. And that will, in turn, be the upper face or ceiling of the drum bunker\/man cave (and now \u2018escape from Mad Vlad\u2018s nuke threat\u2019 bunker!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View from the back; a slightly different angle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Each time I dig a strip it\u2019s about a foot wide. Some of the earth, or \u2018dirt\u2019*, is recycled for the garden; I use a soil sieve to process it for use in places like the greenhouse, flower pots, and the cold frames, etc. Some goes to the municipal dump, where the local council recycles it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* As our American cousins call soil or earth. I always find this a bit weird and jarring. Dirt has kind of ugly even \u2018sinful\u2019 connotations!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Viewed from the house or \u2018front\u2019 end.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m also weeding out bits of tree root and the root systems of all the plants (make that weeds!) that formerly colonised this area – indeed all – of our once totally abandoned garden. Those roots \u2018n\u2019 bits also go to the dump, as does any rubble or other detritus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I keep up the current pace of work – which is a bit weather dependent – I\u2019ll be done in about ten or so days time. But I might get Teresa, and any friends or neighbours I can enlist, to help. The sooner this is dug out, the sooner I can make the \u2018forms\u2019, and get the concrete poured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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