Forgot, this is the hole/planting dibbler I made out of 100% scrap wood I had.
The stakes are surveying stakes I cut down to the size I needed. They are already factory pointed at one end...perfect for this application.
Set them 9" apart in all directions. Can make 6 holes the first time, but then you press one row of 3 into the previous row to keep your pattern, so in effect, you make 3 new holes with each pressing. If that makes sense. Very easy to use. Took about 10 minutes to press out the 140' bed.
I played with a single stake before I screwed them to the frame to figure out how deep I needed them to go to get the right final depth, knowing some soil would back-fill the hole as they are pulled out.
These beds were not rototilled. They were 3 years ago when I laid black plastic and planted tomatoes. I never took the plastic off after the season, and it grew up in weeds for 2 years. I pulled of all the dead growth by hand, and removed the tattered remaining plastic and raked the beds back into a linear shape. I could push a pin flag down at least 8" until hitting a hardpan, so we went ahead with planting. So far things look good.
dibbler.jpg
October 29th 2016
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