Back Breaking Work

Here's what I accomplished this morning:



Here's the pile of dirt.

Here's the weeds that I dug up and raked out of the dirt.

Amazingly, this only took me one hour. But my back was totally spasming so I had to quit. I wanted to stop after the first 10 shovelfuls, but I kept going. I shoved out at least 10 rows and each row has at least 10 shovelfuls.

I need to dig another couple feet further, (about forty more shovelfuls) then I have to go back and remove all the dirt from this bed, one shovel length deep, and lined with chicken wire. And then the dirt has to be put back into the bed. And laying the chicken wire is no fun. It pops up and winds itself back together and won't stay where you put it.

Dh came to help me after I got this far, but he realized it was going to take longer than he had so he's going to see if he can help dig in the next few days. I wish I had his strength and stamina.

It's hard, hard work for me to dig the garden like this. It hurts my back, my wrists, and my hands. Working for an hour like that, I'm going to pay for it the next few days with sore and aching muscles.


On the bright side, I have to say, the dirt is very easy to work with. It could be hard as cement, and full of rocks. But since it has been worked before, the only thing I had to do was lightly shovel the surface first to remove all the weeds, and then start digging out the dirt. Also, the clouds are finally moving in and I hope it rains for a few days.

And, I'm very thrilled that I no longer have to worry about bermuda grass. I fought with that when we lived in Phoenix.

And, I must report that my feet are much, much better, so it is not painful to stand on my feet like it was a few months ago. When I planted my first bed back in September, I wasn't sure how I was going to garden due to the pain in my feet. That has nearly subsided, and I can actually walk on my bare feet without excruciating pain. I am still trying to wear shoes all the time, even in the middle of the night getting up to go to the bathroom. I hate having to put shoes on during the middle of the night, but it seems to have been an important part of the healing process.

I cried for a while after I got that much digging done, as it is very discouraging work. I wish I could just work the bed and plant the seeds, but I can't, because of the gophers that are trying to take over. I know that once we get the chicken wire into all the beds, it will be easier. Hope springs eternal, but today I remind myself that there will be more pests to discourage me and make me hate myself for loving to garden.

I was hoping to plant by February 14th, but I may need to postpone if dh can't find the time to help me. It's not like I can ask him to just stop working as his business is going good right now, and he needs to work as much as he can when there's work. It is difficult for dh and for Kev to work in my garden anyway, since it is not tall enough. They have to duck their heads to work in it and I know that is hard on them. But then I don't have the strength or energy to do the work that needs to be done.

I still need to have 18 holes prepared for the tomatoes. That means digging down 18 inches, dropping in a banana peel (it decays creating fertilizer for weeks down the road when the tomato roots go down that deep), lining the hole with chicken wire, preparing the soil to put back into the hole. And I have to get 18 tomato cages prepared. I think I already have 10 cages.

I came in and took Extra Strength Tylenol, and laid down for a while to try and stop my back from spasming. It doesn't help my frame of mind that I was up from midnight until 6 o'clock in the morning.

Some days I think I'm just stupid for wanting to have a garden.

And yet, I can't wait for my seed order to arrive.

Until next time.