The Making of a Garden - Part II Articles | Lawn Care

By: Site King

You can expect any new garden site in either of the two conditions: ploughed with turf or with rubbish. When it is a large garden, the soil is ploughed with the sod turned under; but with smaller gardens you have to remove the sod. To remove sod, follow this simple procedure: stake and line the garden periphery. This will give you a straight line to follow. The edges can be cut off with spade. In case the space is smaller, four feet by 18 or 20 feet, then your job is simpler. You could mark off this narrow strip like a checker board and cut off the sod with spade. Divide the strip of land in two narrow strips and cut off the sod along the length. When the turf is cut, roll it up much like a carpet.

In case the plot of land is large, then divide the space in narrow strips which are about 2 feet broad and carry on with the sod removal procedure as discussed above. What should you do with the sod thus gathered? Never throw them away, as they are rich in nutrients, though not quite in a manageable state. Pile one square of sod on top of another and leave it to rot. Rotten sod makes an excellent fertilizer. This is also called a compost pile. Through out summer you may add old green vegetable matter to this pile; similarly in fall put the autumn leaves. You have a ready pile of good nutrients for the garden.  

Even if you have a large piece of land, I personally prefer picking out the large pieces of sod rather than plough the land to turn them under. You could pick up the pieces of sod from a ploughed space and stack them on to the compost heap.  

Spading alone can not help you to plough the land, as it is still full of lumps. Break the lumps into fine pieces. The ground is not yet ready for planting. The soil has to be very fine for planting to start. The fine soil allows fine and tiny roots of plants to penetrate, whereas big lumps leave enough empty places in the soil which no delicate root can enter. Thus the seed is left stranded amid large chunks of soil. The space is incapable of pulverizing the soil; for this you need a rake. Though rake can break up the soil and get rid of large lumps, you will need a hoe to break down really large lumps, which a rake also can not handle.

Not many people know how to handle a hoe. The main function of a hoe is to free the soil of weeds and stir the top surface. In summer people use hoe to form mulch of dust, essential for retaining moisture. Hoeing is not really a vigorous exercise but you could use the hoe very gently too. On the other hand, spading is hard labor, but not hoeing and raking.