How are you supposed to plant flower beds when...

[Rajah]

...you can't make any progress with the shovel!!

We planted the roses last night, and I was no help getting the holes dug. I started out trying to help him, but I couldn't even get the shovel through the grass, let alone *lift* the sod, let alone lift any of the clay/soil below the sod.

We finally settled into a routine. He dug the holes, I filled them.

The good part of that is I didn't have to dig and did get to plant my flowers. The bad part of that is I'm not sure how much more DH is going to be willing to plant this year. LOL!!

 

[dandave]

Hi Rajah! My DH hates any type of yard work. I get him to plant stuff by calling the trees he plants "Luke's trees", the flowers he plants are "Luke's flowers", etc. When I can get him to water anything, you can guess which plants get the most water.

 

[DebºoºS]

SLOL! Oh I can feel your pain!
There is no way I can dig a hole in this rock hard dirt. I can fil as many as he can dig.

Last spring DH made a rose garden for me. I wouldn't ask him to dig that many holes again this spring maybe next fall

 

[gina2000]

Rototillers work miracles on ground that is tough to penetrate. Most Home Depos will rent them by the hour. You may want to turn alot of the soil in your planting area before improving it and planting your new plants.

 

[Rajah]

I don't think they would be very effective on the small areas we've been doing, but when we get ready to do the larger beds, I'll keep that in mind, thanks gina!!

 

[Snowwark]

"We finally settled into a routine. He dug the holes, I filled them."

I think you've got it pretty much figured out, Rajah! I guess I'm lucky, I have a DH who loves gardening, and is happy to do the grunt work!

I could rent him out I suppose...hmmmm....

 

[Mamu]

You need a straight head shovel called a spade to dig holes through sod. A rounded head shovel is great for digging in soft pre-dug soil. When you use the right tool digging holes isn't all that difficult. Unless you have cement for soil, if so do not plant that rose until you add lots of peat moss, and or compost to lighten the soil.

 

[Rajah]

We've got the spade. I still can't get through it. At least I think we do. I've thought about getting one of those shovels with the serrated edge for getting through the sod.

The top 15 inches of soil is *soil*, brought in I think when they built the house. Below that is *clay*. Following the instructions of the rose expert at Lowe's (who told me how to plant over the phone and was very nice and patient -- guess which store is getting my business now. ), we just dug the hole about 15 inches down, filled with the Miracle Grow Rose soil, and planted with the rose slightly mounded.

 

[CajunDixie]

Another idea may be to water the area a few hours before you need to dig. DH is an electrician and sometimes has to do some delicate digging and finds moist dirt so much easier....granted it can be messy if you water too much but hey we're all washable.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Him digging and me filling works well at our house too!

 

[mermaidlady]

i rented a rototiller and attempted for an hour to get through the rock hard clay they call soil here. I am now having trouble lifting my arms they are so sore. I am calling for estimates now

 

[Snowwark]

Welcome , Mermaidlady!

Wow, sorry you're feeling so sore!! That sounds like a very tough job, the kind I let my DH do...

Diane, it's great to see you here!