More Garden
by Scott Smith
Robinson wants to expand her garden. She wants the current area to grow by a third and start a new garden in the original pig pen. Both plots are covered in weeds and grass.
We don’t have a tractor.
When we lived in Rensselaer, I rented a lawn scraper. I think I did that twice. I suspect she’s lucky (or unlucky) that she didn’t have to bury me right there. I recall my back not being in good shape for about a month and the same goes for my heart.
Manual scraping is out.
I thought, just maybe, I could use my power washer. It makes sense to me to use high pressure and water to take the top off. Robinson won’t let me yoke the children, using them like oxen.
Any thoughts out there?
LJR Enterprises 
How about begging someone with a tractor to come scrape it?
That was my idea – aren’t there any big equipment rental places out there? Like Fase’s here?
You can’t do it manually, Scottish – Laura’s too young to be a widow…
Depending on how soon you want it, here’s a method I’ve heard of: put down a layer of newspaper, then cardboard on the grass. Soak this stuff thoroughly with water, then lay down thick black plastic over the newspaper and cardboard. Come next spring you’ll be able to remove the cardboard and then till the composted newspaper into the soil. I may be misremembering the details, but I hope you get the general idea. Good luck!