When I needed a pick-axe as a garden tool
I have a Russian Sage that isn't doing well where it's planted. I really wanted to move it to the west side of our property, but the only thing that grows there is a little bit of thyme on top of rocks. It's crying out for some color over there. It's the perfect location for that plant I want to move. But. It's solid ledge.
So this time when I came to the island I brought a pick-axe. Actually, two. Small Boy eyed them suspiciously and asked why I had them. "Because I couldn't get my hands on any dynamite" I answered reasonably.
So yesterday and today we chopped a hole in the ledge. Actually, two. One went fairly fast. Sedementary rock can be wiggled out piece by piece once you crack it. It's like God's jigsaw puzzle. I used a little bit of back labor and a bunch of hand labor to get that hole dug. The shovel played no meaningful role. The second hole, however, hit what B. describes as "high grade metamorphic rock." It was HARD. There was no way to wiggle pieces of it out, we just whaled away at it. Many strong blows from the pick-axe garnered a handfull of gravel. The wheelbarrow filled up slowly with pieces of rock. Happily, both Small Boy and B. took it as a personal affront that the hole wouldn't grow so both of them took turns with me. We got to "good enough" and stopped.
I put some compost in the holes and moved the russian sage to the top hole, the hard hole. I also bought a new plant to put in the lower hole, a red and yellow tickseed called "Coreopsis Li'l Bank (TM) "Red Elf" from Van Berkum Nursery in Deerfield NH. It says it gets to 14" and blooms Jun to Oct. We'll see.
But, hey, now I have light blue and red and yellow perennial flowers where there had been rock.
So this time when I came to the island I brought a pick-axe. Actually, two. Small Boy eyed them suspiciously and asked why I had them. "Because I couldn't get my hands on any dynamite" I answered reasonably.
So yesterday and today we chopped a hole in the ledge. Actually, two. One went fairly fast. Sedementary rock can be wiggled out piece by piece once you crack it. It's like God's jigsaw puzzle. I used a little bit of back labor and a bunch of hand labor to get that hole dug. The shovel played no meaningful role. The second hole, however, hit what B. describes as "high grade metamorphic rock." It was HARD. There was no way to wiggle pieces of it out, we just whaled away at it. Many strong blows from the pick-axe garnered a handfull of gravel. The wheelbarrow filled up slowly with pieces of rock. Happily, both Small Boy and B. took it as a personal affront that the hole wouldn't grow so both of them took turns with me. We got to "good enough" and stopped.
I put some compost in the holes and moved the russian sage to the top hole, the hard hole. I also bought a new plant to put in the lower hole, a red and yellow tickseed called "Coreopsis Li'l Bank (TM) "Red Elf" from Van Berkum Nursery in Deerfield NH. It says it gets to 14" and blooms Jun to Oct. We'll see.
But, hey, now I have light blue and red and yellow perennial flowers where there had been rock.