These boxes would have been easy to rehab were it not for the trees: their roots have discovered the boxes in the 10 years the garden has lain fallow. The boxes all had a dense mat of fine roots that had taken over once the thick tap roots discovered the fine soil in the boxes.

The good news is that roots condition soil: once I dug the roots out, the remaining soil was fine grained, loose and had that slightly-sweet smell that farmers value.

One box had an Oregano plant that had turned into a big, woody bush. When I dug it out, there was a whole ecology in the box: caterpillars, spiders, 2 small, shiny black lizards and lots of other 'wildlife'. The soil was particularly nice, loose and rich. Soil with plants, even weeds, is always much better than bare soil. Plants tend to make soil better and more to their liking...
Comments 8:26:46 PM    

Chris Gulker's view from Silicon Valley - in words and pictures