Another Load of Topsoil

About a year and a half ago, we posted in THIS POST about higher ground about ordering a load of topsoil to raise the level in the garden.  The torrential rains we experienced in August 2016 reinforced the fact that we needed some more soil.  The rains soaked the garden and it seemed to never dry out. That resulted in sickly plants and even worse, a delayed fall garden.

I was determined to not fall prey to a low-lying garden area again, so I ordered a dump truck load of topsoil.  I thought it was a steep price at $220 for 14 yards of soil, but I talked to someone in Lafayette today that paid $275, so I guess it is all relative.  I moved the trampoline to the south and west and asked the dirt service guy to drop the load of soil on top of the craters that Big Boy dug underneath the trampoline.  He obliged and now I had my work cut out for me!

You move 16 tons and whaddaya get?  Another day older and deeper in debt...

Armed with a shovel and a gorilla cart and a hankering to do some good, honest physical labor, I began my task.  I wanted to get the job done before a rain came so that I could spread the soil easily throughout the garden.

My plan is to continue the job I started back in 2015 in the post I referenced in the first paragraph and that is to fill in the furrows between the rows.  I have an infestation of nutsedge or cocograss that keeps me busy in an endless weeding process.  I laid down some cardboard between the rows and began dumping the top soil on top of the cardboard, filling the furrows and then using my shovel to spread the dirt out evenly.  Perhaps the cardboard will frustrate the weeds to keep them from coming up, but I'll keep my expectations real low.  Nutsedge (cocograss) is a pernicious weed.

It took me a while, but I keep at it diligently and before you knew it, I was almost finished.  You can see the progress below.  In the garden where you can see Bull's Blood Beets and Chioggia Beets in the foreground and Swiss Chard on the next row, there aren't really rows anymore.  The ground level is all flat now.

Here is another shot looking straight down the row.  Now I ordered top soil and I must say that I was a little disappointed in this load.  If you look closely you can see dirt 'clods' and in chopping them up with a shovel, there was a bit of clay in my 'top soil.'  I wasn't real excited about putting any clay in the garden but most of the top soil was okay.

It will be beneficial to have the soil level raised by several inches.  Although drainage is certainly key, having a higher soil level will help to dry out the garden quicker.  I will say this - I was happy when the dirt pile was completely moved. Stay tuned as tomorrow, in a topic related to this post , I will give my nomination for the greatest invention ever made.