Last year when I dug our first garden, a section 4×16 feet was to remove the sod or turf first. Once I have the top layer removed I take as much dirt from the sod as I can and then put the rest of the sod in my compost bin to use later.

I know, you could just turn the sod into the ground where it will break down but I really do prefer to put it into the compost bin.

I dug my garden down almost 2 feet so that I could work the soil and add to it, as it was clay that was as hard as concrete. But not any more, it’s gorgeous soil now and it only took a bit of elbow grease to do it.

Note: It’s better to dig the dirt and take it right out of the hole you’re digging. I didn’t do that on my first garden and it was a whole lot more work than it needed to be.

On the second garden I dug up I piled the dirt on a big tarp so that I didn’t have to fight to get the dirt out of our lawn later.

Once You Have Your Garden Dug Up

Now is when your compost comes in handy, if you have a compost bin that is. If not, get one started but for now you can buy the quantity you need but be ready for next year with your own compost.

Our soil was such hard clay that it wouldn’t drain like it should so we added the compost but we also added some sand and peatmoss and now our garden drains as it should. NO MORE DROWNED VEGGIES.

Each year we add more compost to the gardens and each year we are producing more and more. This year our garden will grow large enough that we plan to preserve veggies and fruit for the following winter.

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