Garden Site Preparation: Debris Removal/ Breaking Ground

We finally got a few days with no rain or snow and some 50 degree temperatures. Last years garden spot looks a little rough at first glance. What you see pictured here in this first photo is last year’s tomato sticks and a lot of fall leaves that blew into the garden.
       While a garden does require a lot of work, it can be very rewarding during harvest. Keep in mind the labor required is spread out though out the whole growing season so if performed routinely, it really does not seem too bad to manage. Here I have donated one weekend afternoon to perform the pre-growing season clean up.

I removed last years tomato sticks and mowed off the garden area. As you can tell it did not take a lot of effort just a little time to clear off all of last years debris. And I do mean a little time. If you break down my time for the day, I only spent about two hours to progress to what you see in this second photo.
       This garden area is approximately 20 x 24 and makes a great little size for the gardener who does not have a lot of time to invest into a large garden.

I have noticed over the years that when the ground is compacted it does not allow for the garden area to dry out very well. So typically, even though the soil is a little damp but not muddy, I will tiller down a few inches to allow for the garden soil to dry out a little faster. Once I have broken the hardtop of the soil, it will now dry out to a workable state very soon.
       This little area shown is perfect for planting several Early Girl and Better Boy tomato plants; a couple of cherry tomato plants; and jalapeño, banana, and bell pepper plants. I will discuss more on plant topics in later articles.