If this were Facebook, this would be a quiz called “What kind of digger of dirt are you?” Or something like that.

Do you prepare the soil for planting by cultivating by hand with a shovel or other implement? Do you use a tiller (front tine or rear tine)? Own, rent or borrow? Or do you hire the tilling done for you? Or, do you forgo all that and plant in containers?

Here’s why I ask…

Every year, I hire a guy to come with his John Deere tractor and till my garden. It’s big. And there’s no way I’m digging it myself, much less doing that double-digging thing that I know some of you do.

But this year, after he left, I discovered I need more room. Not a lot. Just another 4′ x 30′ strip. Still, I think it’s too big to dig by hand (or I’m too lazy to do it).  Should I rent a tiller? Try to borrow one? Break down and buy one? I’ve never actually used one. Are they easy or hard to run? Anyone got an electric one?

What’s your experience been?

So I go to pick up some potting soil to start my containers, but all I can find is potting soil with fertilizer and potting soil with soil-moisture retention crystals. What happened to just plain old potting soil?

“There are more flavors of potting soil out there now,” said Mike Hibbard, horticultural advisor at Bachman’s. And while they do offer convenience, Hibbard admits they’re not for everyone. In fact, he doesn’t use them himself. “I don’t want fertilizer in my potting soil. I’ll fertilize myself,” he said.

Call us control freaks, but I’m with him. Here’s why: I like to use organic fertilizers and most of the “value-added” soils use synthetic fertilizers. Besides, like most gardeners, I have a tendency to over fertilize rather than under fertilize. And if I started with a pumped-up potting soil, I’m afraid I’d burn my plants.

I want to start the season right, so I use fresh soil in my containers each spring. (I dump the old soil in the garden or in the composter.) I don’t use garden soil in my containers. (It can harbor nasty insects and diseases and compact in containers, which can cause roots to rot.) But I don’t think I want to use potting soil with stuff in it. I want plain, old potting soil.

How ’bout you? Are you for or against?

At the Spring into Green event, Connie and I met many gardeners, including Lynette, a spunky green thumb who was looking for some free fill for her new veggie beds. We were worried. Free dirt isn’t always food safe, so we planned to do a little research on Lynette’s behalf. Well, it looks like she beat us to the punch and got herself a good deal to boot!

From Lynette:

I met Connie and Jaime at the Spring into Green Event… I had asked you both where I should buy 6 yards of dirt for my raised beds where I plan to grow food. Connie, you had cautioned me about going to an expensive landscape store because the dirt was going to be overpriced. I just wanted to let you know what I found.

Thanks Ladies!

No, thank you for sharing your research, Lynette!

How’s your back today? Mine is a little stiff, thanks to the beautifully (surprise!) sunny weekend and the chance to finally get some things crossed off my ever-growing to-do list. Our bees arrived and they are getting used to their new homes. But the highlight of my weekend was making my back a little sore by shoveling a pick-up load of what comes out of the back end of horse.

It takes a special person to get all excited about manure. Even if it’s special manure. I could wax poetic about how well-composted it is, what a deep, rich color it is, and how there appear to be virtually no weeds. Heck, I could dance a little happy manure dance on top of the pile of it in my pickup truck.

Alas, before you go checking YouTube for video of that jig, I’ve already unloaded it on my garden, and I’m headed back today for more, more, more. I hope to get my garden tilled this week (I want all that good manure tilled in), and planted with peas, onions, potatoes and lettuce. I can’t even tell you how happy that makes me, but I bet you can imagine it.

So, two questions for you today:

1) Did you get a chance to get out and exercise your back this wonderful weekend? What did you do?
2) Are you growing veggies this year, and if so, where does your garden stand at the moment? Have you already got things growing? Or are you waiting till it warms up? Do you dig your garden yourself or get help tilling it?

Oh yeah, and if you’re looking for composted manure, let me know. I’ve been scanning Craigslist and talking to farmers. I might be able to hook you up with some good stuff.