Last week on Thursday, it was a good day for digging on the allotment plot at MERL. The weather was perfect, not to cold, with bright sunshine after recent rain. It was a day of excavation, a discovery mission to find out what was buried in the earth (not just worms, also rocks and artifacts). Digging started at 12.30pm approximately and went on for several hours. Digital video watched over the process, providing evidence. Different types of stones or rocks emerged, a mix of minerals. A stone removed could mean a straighter carrot. Broken china appeared and old glass, an archival collection of shattered forgotten objects that now sit on the soil in an unstructured mosaic. Callouses appear on the hands from digging, the allotment act, groundwork, systematic use of the spade tool through organic composition. To dig or not to dig, leave space for the non dig method and compare notes.
