aahhh the envy would have been abated by doing what I was doing today....shovelling sh**!
Manure is weird stuff - when you have a big pile of well rotted stuff it packs down - get really dense like clay.
I have been manuring today - partly because we have cleared some beds, partly for some new hedging.
I find now that the best technique is to pry the heap apart with a garden fork - creating a 6" deep layer of "lumps". I then rotovate the lumps into a coarse tilth (like coarse gravel) and then shovel it into a barrow. A long handled spade is a real back saver for filling the barrow
Manuring Kit by
British Red, on Flickr
This lot is bound for the trenches I have dug for the native hedging thats coming next week...
Trench for hedging by
British Red, on Flickr
...and also into the emptied veg beds. The beds are rotovated again when the manure has been added
Manured and rotovated bed by
British Red, on Flickr
They don't stay empty long. I did this one two weeks ago...
Garlic and Japanese Onions by
British Red, on Flickr
The garlic and over wintering onions are already making a brave show!
Made a fair old dent in the manure pile today
Diminshed Manure pile by
British Red, on Flickr
Musn't use too much though - there are another 5 beds (each a hundred square feet) going in this Autumn
Red