May 30th, 2016

My task today was to clear the Brassica tunnel so I could move it and have the ground clear for my sweet corn which is growing well in pots in the greenhouse at home.






I had removed the brassicas a few days ago but there remained knee high grass and other weeds. The soil has dried out so I had to dig out the grass. I eventually found sliding the fork under the grass roots and levering them up was the best option rather than actually digging it out - as can be seen in the bottom of the photo.











Then, while the soil surface was smooth, I got out my new large pruning saw and sawed through the large posts at ground level ready to move it to the new Brassica patch; hard work but easier than I thought it would be.
Having bare earth I wanted to break up the soil which had not been dug since the autumn of 2014 as I left it nice and compact for planting Brassicas last year. However, now it is nearly June and the soil is drying out, I didn't want to expose the damp soil below the surface and allow it to dry out. I therefore used the fork and just pushed it down into the soil and levered it back to ease the spit up only slightly. Hopefully, if it rains tomorrow, the water will fall down the cracks and moisten the deeper soil. I will then just cultivate the surface  to sow and plant my crops.
The advice from local experts is that normal digging is counter productive from June through the summer as it exposes the moist soil underneath and allows it to dry out even more.
Having heaped the grass and weeds onto my compost bin, as June 21st is nearing when the Asparagus season ends I harvested a good few spears and went home

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