Happy Saturday!

This week, I had a truck of soil delivered to me. I ordered 3 cubic yards of it and man, did I grossly overestimated the amount.

I use quite a bit of soil each year because my raised beds and containers sink by quite a bit and I know I typically go through around 60 cubic feet of soil each year. I figured, if I use 60 cubic feet of soil each year, why not buy 3 cubic yards, equivalent of 81 cubic feet. That wasn’t the amount I would get for 3 cubic yards, that is much much more than I was expecting. Have I been cheated with the bagged stuff? That is much more than 81 cubic feet.

I took Thursday off, fully expected to spend the day shoveling and carting the soil to specific areas. Unfortunately, after getting into an argument at work, my mom decided to take Thursday off as well. I wasn’t expecting her to help. In fact, I didn’t want her help. I wanted to mind her own business and stay out of mine. She was livid when she saw the truckload of soil and was screaming at me the whole time she was shoveling soil between the large bags I prepared to fill the soil.

After scooping a third of the total, she demanded I tell the delivery person that we cannot take anymore. As the delivery person left and we were left cleaning up the soil, I was left to wonder if that will be enough for the year. Though the soil doesn’t look too bad, there were quite a few large bits of wood in there and I like my soil fine and also, something about the soil felt off, like it felt lifeless like dirt.

I did if I was delivered the wrong soil. I looked at the soil before I ordered it, took some, and felt it in my hands. It felt right. I even smelled it and it smelled like the forest.

So on Friday, I took a small container of the soil and sifted. Then I added some saturated peat moss and perlite and mixed it thoroughly. Immediately, what I thought it was a lifeless soil turned into something familiar. I even took my soil tester and tested it. The soil was all right.

The soil wasn’t the only garden project I completed this week. I finally got to re-do the PVC trellises that failed me last year. I grew slicing and roma tomatoes in this bed last summer and the wind came and tore apart this trellis twice, nearly killing the tomatoes.

This year, I asked AI to build me a stronger trellis. I did the math on the dimension while AI did the engineering math like wind load. Though I have an engineering degree, it’s been too long since I’ve done this kind of math and I didn’t want to re-learn.

This is one of three I have to re-do. Hopefully, I will get to the other two before tomato season. I still have to build a wire trellis along the fence for the grape vine, which arrived yesterday.

Lots of garden projects in store.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.