Just an idea: perhaps putting down a thick straw mulch and then placing heavy plywood--2-inch thick--on top for the backhoe to run over would cushion and diffuse the weight--somewhat similar to placing a stepping board in the raised bed rather than stepping directly into the bed. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: HarvestToTable.com

Mary, (I assume)

You are right about the backhoe ruining your garden. We had to have a new septic system installed and they ran over the same area of our garden innumberable times. We likewise had delightfully fluffy enriched worm infested soil after 4 years of nourishment. The backhoe squeezed the life right out of it. We are still in recovery 2 years later, but things are looking up, the earth heals. We have an added benefit here of winter freezing. I have been vigorously amending this soil with grass clippings, leaves, compost, and besides that I have a long garden fork which I drive as deep as possible and pry back and forth. This all seems to be helping a great deal. This past season we harvested considerable vegetables from this area. So I advise not to get too upset. There is life after the backhoe. Certainly maintain your marriage. That is more valuable than your garden.

Hope it all works out!

Ted

I like Stephen's suggestion. Sounds like it might work if the backhoe will only use the garden to get to the pool area. If it's going to be sitting on top of the garden to work, back ad forth and turning on that spot, then it might not save your garden.

Anything is worth a try though!

You could also ask hubby to help you rehabilitate your garden area after the pool is finished. Maybe this is a nice gateway to getting hubby hooked on gardening too.

Mary, in keeping with your idea about moving some of the veggies to the front yard, you might want to take a look at photographs of some beautiful front yard veggie gardens over in the Potager Garden forum. It can be done very attractively.

In the meantime, maybe your hubby will change his mind about the pool and settle for a nice little jacuzzi!

Contractors doing serious work on drainage in swamps have great pallets that come with the equipment and the job. It isn't clear to me at this stage if one has talked to the contractor to determine if they have mitigating pallets or some such.

I'd suggest you ask them to move any composty soil to a pile off to the side. Composty soil is no good for around a pool area because it wont compact properly so they can scrape it away and move it with the backhoe. Any clay or sandy soil can be used to backfill around the pool area. In the mean time it may be best to grow your vegies in pots so you can move them out of the way when the time comes.

When we had our pool installed they had good access through the side fence, but we had to take out everything on two sides (the other two sides around the area were fairly clear of obstacles) but the back hoe does move around a lot and very quickly and it will need to run back and forth around the area, so you wont save much in the way of beds. They might not like the idea of you putting down timbers if it impedes the backhoe. The soil will get compacted and it will take a few years to rebuild the garden but it's worth it IMO and you'll soon forget the whole ordeal as you're enjoying your pool on a baking hot day :)

I'm with trancegemini. Backhoes are VERY heavy, and backhoe drivers want to get the job done and move on. On the front of your typical backhoe is a big bucket. If your garden is a reasonable size, that backhoe can move all of your improved topsoil to a safe place in a matter of minutes. You will have to pay a little more for this. You need to be there when this is happening, or you may not like the outcome. Never, never assume that they understand what you are asking for.

He will then compact your subsoil into concrete with his machine, but your subsoil may already be concrete, I don't know. By the way, all the bad stuff will be much worse if they do the work when the soil is wet. If your subsoil is dry, I doubt that they can hurt it very much. They will also do less damage to your yard when it's dry. It will also be much easier to re-landscape when it's dry (unless you have sandy soil). What kind of soil do you have?

We had a pool installed a few years ago. I thought I was prepared for the trucks, lawn damage etc. Boy, was I wrong. I came home from work one day and discovered a 150 ft ROAD had been built from our driveway, around the side of the house and out into the back yard! It was a wet spring and the trucks kept getting stuck. This 'road' also came with gravel/rocks the size of my fist - so definitely ask the contractor to scrape off all the good soil first.

Oh, and it's not just the backhoe - don't forget the cement mixer and water tankers (the first water truck somehow got stuck in the FRONT yard and had to get towed out - what a mess!).

The good news is that three years later you'd never know it - the pool and yard look great! I even got three new gardens out of it - and I didn't have to rip up any sod! lol

Pay them for an extra hour to pull the good soil before they start and when they're done break up the area that has been compacted and return the "good stuff" to the garden. You'll actually end up with your soil broken up much deeper than you could do it yourself. You can even have a load of nice compost delivered for them to mix up into your garden area.
Boy, what I could do with a couple hours of tractor service! NT

I agree with ninja.I run a hoe,and it's not hard or time comsuming for the operator to do this for you.In an extra hour they can break up your nasty compacted soil,mix the good stuff with it and you'll end up with much better gardening area than you could ever hope for!

There will still be some compaction after they get done,but not near as bad as you might think.

Mike

Mary

See if you can talk your husband into getting one of these Swim Spas.

They can be set up to look very classy out in the open, on a porch, or on a deck. You can swim in place against a flow of water or lounge around them or float in them. They aren't nearly as large as an inground pool but they serve the same function unless you plan to have parties for large crowds or family to frolic all together in the pool. The upkeep isn't nearly as demanding and they aren't as expensive as inground pools, either, though they aren't cheap. (I am personally worried about what's going to happen to all of us in the economy and people's jobs in 2009, so I may be more cautious than others about taking on more financial burdens than I already have.)

Anyway, I'd be pretty upset at the thought of my garden space being packed down by heavy machinery, too!