I'm going to start growing some of my own food, so I stumbled across you're video. You're very helpful! .. I must say, hearing the birds in the background and summer nature noise is so beautiful. Makes me all that more excited to start gardening.

Thank you for this simple, straight to the point, self explanatory video. Thumbs up to you, sir. I like the overalls. :)

99% of comments: “I wish I had soil like that” Me: “I wish I had soil”

If you make sure to never allow any walking on your beds you will never have to repeat the digging procedure and you will have deeply friable soil that you won't even need a trowel for planting transplants. You can easily pull carrots and potatoes by hand. Just add compost on top every fall and in the spring and you create soil with the texture of chocolate cake. Best way to start a garden I've ever found.

This soil has already been built up and worked for a few years if not a few generations. Beautiful soil.

Best demonstration of double digging on YT. Much appreciated!

Thanks for the tips Ozark Nick. My wife and I are wanting to start our first garden this year so we needed this video.

Dude you just made my tilling much easier. I was WAY WAY off and harder when I was doing it. Knowledge is power, and youtube!

Thanks for showing this. Will have my son do this, this week. He can use his strong young muscles!!! I'll supervise!

Wish I had soil like that. Here in Indiana dig 4 inches down and hit clay.

As stated before your not double digging.When you have removed the soil down to the sub-soil level, you then break up the sub-soil to improve drainage. Try it that way and your veg will improve even more. In addition to digging this way, when you have loosened the subsoil throw a 8inch layer of horse manure on top then the sods turned upside down then the rest of the soil. This is called a raised bed. Its how we do things in the UK.

Such lovely soil. Here in Virginia it is all clay. I would need a pic axe to do that. I bet you grow nice potatoes in that. Thanks for this video

Them dang birds singin they butts off...lol

Thanks for your video..exactly the info i was looking for!

I don't know I found this video but I'm sure glad I did. I wish there were more videos like this. I know this is an old video and I don't know if you'll read the comment but I really do appreciate it.

Very nicely explained! And I must say I lreally like your showel. mine is way shorter, and sometimes a pain in the darkest area to work with... New handle it is ;) And another thing. I did this two days ago, well half ways, and yes, nothing like the way you did... At it again today!

hey makes sense! thanks for replying :) i will try it this way when i go to dig here in a week or so.

No one can ever call U lazy! Those veggies will taste so good, because of the labor U put into them!

Thanks for the effort & sharing; hope the potatoes were very happy :-) Looks like you have a really good soil to start with... 2 suggestions: 1) place the sod to one side of the trench then place the earth from the second digging to the other side. Might be a little easier to rake it all in eventually 2) do not walk over/through your trench at any stage of the process - the whole point of this method (even this particular variation of it) is to loosen the soil as much as possible. Hope it helps.

Good video, brohiem. Thanks for the share!

That's awesome👍🏼👍🏼

oh gads... I have garden envy.. that soil looks awesome :)

Nice video brother

i just did this today actually. I dug about a 12x12 garden plot with a pickaxe and ran a old 1 wheel push plow through it to break it up. I have to say it is looking great. i figure good old fashioned dirty work only builds character. you don't need a gas powered machine that cost money to operate. just fuel your body with good food grown at home.

you're a BEAST!

Thank you! I have not done a vid on axe sharpening yet.

Finally someone that makes sense...Ty

thanks for this! 👍 everyone else talks too much!

Good luck!

what fantastic, luxurious, dark earth you have! where abouts was this filmed?

I believe it is very decent soil. To be fair we got a bit of a head start on the gardening this year because of the unusually warm weather. But I found out yesterday that eight inches of rain in one night isn't very good for it! Thanks! Be well.

Thanks!

Owee that black gold dirt you got .....nice indeed

The way I see it, if you removed the sod it would make your garden several inches below the level of the surrounding earth which wouldn't be very good. Also, by placing the sod upside down under the soil, you are basically making a layer of compost that will slowly feed the soil on top.

Your ground is so soft. Lol I miss my old farm. The ground here is still mostly clay. I also am smaller than you, so I have to jump on my shovel. Lol... yay clay!!!

Great video, do you ever talk about how to sharpen an Axe in any of your videos?

Thats some rich soil brotha!

I want to double dig my garden ... here is the problem I live in South Fla ... all I currently have is sand .... I get free compost by the truckloads from someone further south of me that raises goats.... I want to do it by hand but the same just pours back into the trench.... I really want to get the tiller from my brother ( also my neighbor... start by laying out two truckloads of compost then go over with a tiller and lay a last final layer of compost on top I also have a tree service here Im going to see if I can grab mulch from them... what's the opinions by hand or tiller?

Not sure why you didn't loosen up your bottom soil with a digging fork. Just a little more drainage.

man knows his overalls...

Nice soil by the way

I'm in Alabama and I used a hoe to get rid of the grass I'll will try this next for my garden

why do you keep the sod mixed in there? arent you supposed to remove the sod?

Did you fertilize? I use a sharpshooter, the smaller width takes a little time but seems to be better sized for my age and strength.

Time for beer Nick............

Just had a question, whats that netting thing in the background?...assuming its for vines and so on

If I were to do this method but add some amendments along the way (peat moss, compost etc.) at what point would I add that all in?

Haha! Yes they will! ;-)

Me : 1/2 foot down, rock.

was wodering why you put the weeds and grass back in the hole when you put the dirt back in the roots will take hold and keep growing?

This is not the traditional double digging technique. This method seems to only go a spades depth, not two spades depth like true double digging. Traditional double digging also seeks to preserve soil stratification, but this method definitely does not; he clearly inverted the soil by putting the deeper laters back on top of what used to be the surface.

I don't doubt that is how you double-dig a garden. The question is, why would you?

if your sod is mostly moss will it still decompose if buried upside down similar to grass?

That's called "sod" in the Ozarks? The shovelfulls just crumble, it seems there is little in the way of a root layer. And your soil seems very soft and deep. Is it really necessary to do all of that digging?

I'm new to gardening and I've read about how to double dig, but this is the first video demo I've seen. I have a question. Does the sod layer consist of weeds? I'm asking because I've seen gardening videos where people who till a new garden will remove all of the weeds and grass and get rid of them before they till (by hoeing or digging them out), since, supposedly, the weeds and grass would regrow from the seeds or roots if you just till them into the soil. In other videos I've watched, people just till the grass and weeds into the soil. I'm confused as to whether or not it's really necessary to physically remove the weeds and grass or just till them in. Thanks.

Do you ever sharpen your shovel?

I can do thjat in my coral rock soil, lucky the people who have that soil without stones!

why not just use a 4tine spade or a broadfork and do less work?

then my tiny space will be a breeze

Is there a reason you didn't remove the weeds and the sod from the dirt before you put it back?

Why do people ask questions, then make their comment so I can't reply to it?

Hey thar bubb, tink use can cut up dem volumes? i having dem hard time hearing use

I don,t know how you can dig a garden with that spade,the handle is too long doesn't,t it hurt your wrists

In today's hurry up, watch TV, got other things to do world most people don't have the patience to hand dig a garden. Small steps equal big results. Good lookin' dirt BTW.

With that soil digging is just harmful.

Waste of time and energy bro. Just make mounded beds.