14 October 2009

I finished Round One of prepping the pumpkin patch for next spring. Most of the major, close-surface shale has been removed, and my drainage tests are good. A farmer told me over the weekend that shale, which he has in abundance in his cornfield, is often more porous than soil, but I needed to remove the upper layers and mound the surface to give the roots a foot or so to grow. I expect my soil test from Cornell in the coming week and will add whatever's lacking. I'll also be mulching most of the leaves from our Norway Maple, which doesn't really turn until November. Below are before/after photos of the patch, along with a few pictures of the shale I removed.