Why we're double-digging (part II)

We are celebrating our hitting the 20-double-dug bed mark: 2,000 square feet of 24-inch-deep soft, aerated, amended soil.

Even though people still think we're crazy for doing it, we have a slow-and-steady-to-develop garden, we've got our own plans to experiment with the next few beds using newspaper sheets, organic matter, green manure crops and tap rooters, and Jason's muscles are bursting and his back is aching, we have a really, really, really good answer for "why double-dig?"

R.O.C.K.S.

No matter how much you build up your beds, there's no escaping the huge boulders we pull out just a few inches below the surface. These rocks are impenetrable barriers to plant roots, never to be dealt with unless we get into the ground.

And hopefully we will never have to dig this deep again.