When we decided to add our CSA program, we quickly realized that we would need more garden space. In fact, we decided to double the amount of space we currently have dedicated to our garden. This is proving to be a rather large undertaking.
In the past, we have borrowed a tiller from a friend, relative, or neighbor when we have wanted to expand. This time, however, we decided to do things a bit differently. Since our daughters are still quite young, we don't want to be running machinery such as tillers with them around. And as a stay at home dad, I don't have many opportunities to work in the garden without them around.
Our solution is a simple tool called a broadfork. With this tool, I am able to prepare the soil in a quiet and safe way. I jab the tines of the broadfork into the ground, step forcefully on the base, and pull the handles down. This pulls up a chunk of soil causing it to be much looser and easier to work with.
After I go one direction with the broadfork, I go back over the same area from a different direction. Once that is complete I rake over the whole area. This takes a lot of time, but works well in my schedule because I can bring my daughters to the garden and work within the short time frames we have available each day.
So far I have been able to do about one third of the space we hope to finish. This new space is where we plan to plant our peas soon, and then later our tomatoes and peppers. Stay tuned for more updates!
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