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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Thursday, April 09, 2026
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TowneFamilyVT
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Vermont
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Entry 14 of 17 |
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The "Day Off"
The definition of a relaxing day off from work: manually wrestling a broadfork 14 inches deep into native compact soil. I'd be perfectly fine if I don't look at that tool again for the rest of the year. Phew.
But there's a vital reason I chose this painstaking chore over simply firing up the rototiller. Running a tiller through heavy, early-spring soil smears the earth at the bottom of the tines, creating a compacted hardpan that acts like a bowl. Giant pumpkins absolutely hate wet feet. If those taproots hit a hardpan barrier and sit in stagnant water, they suffocate, inviting root rot and disease.
Broadforking breaks up the soil 14 inches down while keeping the natural aggregate structure intact. Less resistance for the roots, far better drainage. Happy roots make heavy pumpkins.
With the fracturing done, tomorrow is all about building up. I'll be layering 6 inches of fresh material across the patch, a custom blend of leaf and yard compost, Pro-Mix, coarse perlite, and dry amendments. No stones unturned. Literally, I turned them all.
Now, time for some ibuprofen.
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