Sod Removal

So today's project was to remove some sod under my rhodies to make way for my new epimediums.  Whew!  I learned to remove sod from reading Cass Turnbull's Guide to Pruning a few years back when we first bought the house and inherited an overgrown landscape.  Turnball would have you cut your sod into 8 inch squares and layer it (upside down so the grass doesn't show) in a wall 2 feet high, 2-3 feed wide, and as long as you would like.  The bonus for making the effort is that your grass turns into quality soil.  Today I didn't put the extra effort in.  Mostly because since I have followed her advice in the past, and I still have put my soil anywhere (it is destined for my superhuge raised bed), I don't have the space to store it.

My husband's tool of choice for sod removal is a spade.  My tool of choice is a pulaski (pictured above.)  I am not sure of the tool's true name.  I think pulaski might be a brand.  Nevertheless, this tool is one I have kept over the years and it is great at sod removal.  I use the ax side to score the grass and the narrow hoe side to pull it up.  It was pretty quick work since much of the grass under the rhodies was mossy due to shade.  I put my remnants into my municipal yard waste bin so they can become compost for someone else.

Of course I ran into some critters while I worked.  Lots and lots of worms.  I tried to give most of them new homes (or at least a chance for a new home.)  Thank goodness I had gloves on!  The worms on the surface were easy to grab and toss but some were more embedded.  I had to dig a bit and then pull.  Worms can offer a surprising amount of resistence -- though in the end it is kind of like pulling a lace out of your shoe.  The one above was huge -- at least 6 inches long.  It could flatten out so it looked a bit cobra-headed at times.  Truly gross -- but I figured it must be an old timer and needed a chance to go on.  I tossed it into my ornamental bed and it bee- lined for a heuchera, clearly its survival skills were still in tact.

I also found this green thing while removing sod.  Grub?  I didn't know what to do with it because I don't know what it is.  So I left it -- and all the 1-2 inch yellow centipede-ish creatures I found (too small to photograph) -- to fend for themselves. 

I stopped my sod removal project once I had opened up space for the epimediums.  Next on my to-do list: add compost, mix soil, and plant the plants.  Hopefully I can get that done this week.  The epimediums are looking very vigorous on my counter and I would rather see them flourish in the ground.