Breaking Sod

Today I learned that breaking sod is back-breaking, time-consuming, strangely satisfying labor. The idea for this adventure was born this morning when I stepped outside and it felt like spring. It's been in the mid 70s today and delightfully breezy. I just had to get my hands dirty, even though I'm planning on doing some kind of "lasagna gardening" which I read about in a book with the most alluring title: Low Maintenance Vegetable Gardening. The whole point of lasagna gardening is that you prepare your garden right over the grass without ever having to break sod. So I'm a masochist who enjoys pain. Whatevs.

Tools of choice

At first the idea was just to remove the sod in an outline so I could map out the size of beds I want. So I created two outlines, but just kept working at it.

At the end of two-ish hours of labor I have one cleared bed and another partially cleared. I did all this while my husband was taking a nap, but I was not without company. She enjoys watching me sweep, so why wouldn't she enjoy watching me hoe?

I now have two red, hurting hands due to my dire glovelessness and two dirty feet.

I would say that breaking sod like this wasn't totally wasted labor. I found out that the soil in the area already supports vegetable life. I dug up several carrots, a potato(?) and a what-the-heck-is-that. I wonder how long it's been since the former garden has been tended.

I also took some time out to play Old Joe Clark. It's not perfect, and the camera is aimed at nothing but my denim thigh, but it's music.

Now I'm enjoying an ice cold beer and my very first gardening blister of hopefully many more to come! I would like to thank Martin Luther King Jr. for making this glorious day off work possible.