I got almost all the compost spread! Almost a whole truck full, one shovel at a time. I made four nice big raised beds, about half what I need. I had measured out the beds in advance, and put down newspaper and straw on the paths between them. All I had to do today was load the compost onto the wheelbarrow, dump it onto the beds, and smooth it out.
Is it OK to use pure compost as the soil in a vegetable garden? My original plan was to mix compost and topsoil, but I heard that the topsoil at the dump is bad, lots of clay. And I can't really afford good garden soil from a commercial place like Sands & Soils. Well I could, but I'd much rather use this beautiful, dark, crumbly and very cheap compost -- $7.50 for a whole truckload! I am never buying compost in bags again! -- and save that money for more plants.
I had to take a break to move a bunch of daylilies, which David's dad had given me last fall. I had plopped them into holes left by stumps, just to give them a place while I figured out where their permanent home will be. I did decide on a permanent home (in front of the fence, by the road) but I won't be ready to plant them there until the fall. But their current location is where the raised beds go, so they had to be moved now.
When I took the daylilies out of the ground I found tons of big, fat worms. Which was a big relief since my soil is so bad and typically has very few worms. If they can find a pocket of nice soil in the middle of all that hard clay, then they'll be sure to get into my new beds. I found a place where the daylilies can stay all summer: at the corner of the house, by the hydrangea bed. They'll get nice sun there and (I hope) keep weeds from springing up. By fall when I move the daylilies, I'll have figured out what to put in that corner.
It looks like there may be just enough compost left in the truck for one more bed, and I had thought to finish up this afternoon. But after moving all those daylilies (they filled my whole wheelbarrow, in two layers!) my back started to complain. So I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and quit for the day. This way I'll feel fresh tomorrow and ready to get more done.
Came inside and took a long shower to wash all the grime off myself. Now I'm in my jammies and oh so glad I didn't try to keep working. As soon as I stopped moving I realized how tired I was. I had planned to make myself a batch of Lisa's amazing spinach casserole for dinner, but that's not happening now. Luckily I have lots of good leftovers. Now I'm going to go lie on the couch and watch movies. Georg is away for the night so it's just me and Thirteen.
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