Turning meadow into flowerbeds... and a riddle...

Padre's recent post about creating lovely flower beds from 'jungle' has prompted me to proffer the following method which I use in France, where I don't have a lot of time, but I do have a huge area to cultivate. (I previously posted this in a 'soil' response but figured that it might be of more general interest.

This is best done when the ground is fairly dry.

a) dig a trench and save the soil on a tarpaulin as if you were going to double dig the area. If the ground is really hard, I find that a mattock is the best tool for this job.
b) don't dig down (unless you want to grow things like leeks or sweet peas to perfection), but when you dig the next row, put that soil on another tarpaulin.
c) When you are finished the (second) row, riddle (sieve) the second lot of soil into a wheelbarrow (a ¼" mesh is fine) and throw the rough stuff that doesn't go through the riddle into the trench. (You should, obviously, discard large stones and perennial weed roots).
d) When the wheelbarrow is full (or you get to the end of the row if your soil is absolutely appalling or the row is very short), cover the rough stuff with manure or some other good water-retentive compost.
f) Fork this in and then cover with the fine soil from the wheelbarrow.
(You may think that you have lost inches from your garden at this stage, but you will GAIN 3" - 5" - without surgery - guaranteed!!! :o))
g) Repeat from (b) until the area is completely improved.
h) If you still have a trench, sieve the soil retained from the first trench and fill it with that as above.
i) If you do not have a trench you can sieve the soil, throw out the rough stuff and keep the fine soil as topsoil for making your own compost, etc.
j) Rake level.

I figure that is takes me ~ 2 hours to tackle a square yard, but the results, for me at least, have been fantastic. It is probable that you will actually achieve a much better rate than this, but I have a tendency to go into reveries in which I ponder Big Questions like.... what did the Big Bang sound like... why was Heisenberg so uncertain ... is it true what they say about Dixie ... and what's for dinner?
;o)
Happy riddling...

Mike

Here is a pic of part of a bed of about 6yards by 1½yds I created at Easter. All of the plants (except the weeds, and the Passionflower that was a cutting from August 2003) were planted as 3" seedlings at that time. It took me about 3 days, including reveries and siestas to go from meadow to planted bed...

And another pic of another bit of the bed... (forgive the rubbish in the foreground...).

A good plan, but if it's all clay, and the rain never stops, where are you then?

And what DID the Big Bang sound like? Hmmm, think of the best idea you've ever had and imagine the sound it made in your head and multiply infinitly.

Off to renovate the veggie garden bit where the violas have dug in and won't leave peacefully.

And is the speed of light really slowing down?

How will that affect traffic Radars?

But wait--It's all relative!

This message was edited Aug 14, 2004 12:04 PM

Kathleen, if it's always WET, you must be in Dave's Garden! :o)

Mike, that is beautiful. After you do all of that work do you then broadcast the flower seeds such as Rudbekia and the others? Jeanette

That looks fantastic. Don't think I'll have the time energy or patience, but would like to give it a go

Which part of France do you have a foot in?

lol, Mike - it does seem I'm here a lot lately.

No, I grow the Rudbeckias (and all of the others) from seed late in the preceding summer in pots(around now). Then plant them out at Easter.

The house in France is a small cottage on a hill-top near the town of Chef-Boutonne whence cometh the source of the Boutonne river, that is a tributary of the Charente. It is about seventy miles from the Atlantic coast on a level with La Rochelle, about halfway 'down' from Brittany to Biarritz. Nearest cities are Poitiers and Niort.

I love it.

Sort of due north of where I am :)
If you draw a line between Toulouse and Biarritz, I'm about half way along and slightly north of that line - in the middle of 'Gascony'. We're 1 and a half hours from the Atlantic and the same from the Pyrenees. Near the River Adour
Nearest large towns - Pau, Auch and Mont de Marsan

I LOVE it here too

I always say that the cave painters of Lascaux (about 2 hours drive from where I am) painted to express the sheer beauty of their environment...
Actually, I probably would have preferred a house in the Vezere valley, but couldn't afford it.
I used to camp in Montesquieu near Armagnac and walk parts of the Route de St Jacques de Campos Stelle - deliriously lovely.
Mike

We stayed up near the Vezere valley when house hunting
I decided it was too touristy and there are only so many roads because of the geology.....
too many brits too ;)

We're just a few miles west of Montesquieu
Have you seen this village, which is next west along the ridge?
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/447721/

Yes, the countryside here is absolute heaven.
Whereas in the Dordogne I felt rather trapped by the topography, here all is wide open skies and that wonderful rich feeling of freedom and space :D

Pyrenees close for an injection of mountains whenever needed
Can get to the Atlantic for some wild waves
Mmmmmmm

Bassoues - gosh yes. We used to eat at the restaurant. We called la patronne 'Madam Trunchball' after the character in Dahl's Mathilda.

Strangely, I don't mind the touristy side of the Vezere as I spend a lot of time on randonnees, leaving 'civilisation' behind and getting a sense of what it would have been like four thousand years ago....

The place where we are now is a tiny hilltop hamlet of about ten houses, but four of them have been bought by 'Brits'. Still you would never mistake it, or anywhere in the area for anything other than totally French.

The local agriculture is mostly goat farming with wonderful goat's cheese 'Tchabichou' they call it.

Hmmm must get back soon...