Re: Mediterranean is a Big Word
- Subject: Re: Mediterranean is a Big Word
- From: y*@sfo.com
- Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:33:34 -0700
At 3:18 PM +0100 9/21/08, Brian Ottway wrote:
<<...I too have an alkaline (~pH7.8) clay soil that is like concrete
for 8 months of the year.
...
...2. I tend to dig too small a planting hole - often too shallow I
think. It is so hard to dig the ground that I give up too soon.
....>>
People around here (San Francisco bay area) joke about needing a
jackhammer in the dry season. A shovel barely makes a dent -- maybe
it raises some dust, if the area is unmulched. But I've used the
following method successfully to make it easy to dig during the dry
season without any special tools or extra muscle. Run a trickle of
water from the hose at the spot you want to dig 10 minutes or so
before you start. If you put the hose on full blast, the water will
run off and the soil will remain cementlike. If you use a slow
trickle, the soil will absorb the water and you'll soon be able to
work it. If it's on a slope, you'll have to make little dams so that
the water doesn't all run off.
A couple months ago I did this in a neighbor's yard because they
wanted to plant a couple tomato plants in an area that hadn't been
used for several years. It was unmulched, unimproved soil with no
irrigation nearby, and it went pretty fast. I moved the trickle over
a few inches as I worked. For about a 20 sf area, I loosened the soil
down to about a foot, and IIRC it took maybe half an hour. The rule
of thumb is that if your soil is workable during the wet season --
it's really lovely to dig here in midwinter -- then this should work.
Another idea is the planting-in-mud method (during the rainy season)
described at http://www.latc2.com/wordpress/category/your-home/
(third article from the top).
Tanya Kucak
Sunset zone 15/17
