The digging has begun

This weekend, December 7 and 8, 2007 I began digging the first beds. The old canna beds were first. I dug out the bulbs, and couldn't give many away, so the rest went to the street.

Then I dug my first 4x9' bed (not exactly the length I'd planned, but close. I removed the turf by hand, and kept lots of earthworms that were close to the surface. I even found an old Civil War bullet!

I still need to dig yet another 4x9' bed, but I have until Spring to get that done.

When finished, I buried the whole thing under a deep pile of leaves I'd raked from the yard.

The whole thing looks awfully small, but it's as large as the garden I had years ago. I grew plenty of food in that little garden, so for sure it's a good start.

There's no turning back now. The ground has been broken, so even if I don't improve the soil the way I want, I'll still have a garden in 2008.