Jake always takes me out when there is a bit of ground to be Spaded up, or turned over, when he wants to make the garden in the spring.
"The Story of a Stuffed Elephant"
Laura Lee Hope
To avoid this I recommend that the ground intended for plants be plowed or Spaded in the fall, and if stable manure is to be used, let it be well rotted and turned under at this time, and again work the soil early in the spring, at this time turning under a good dressing of potash salts; keep the ground free from weeds by occasional stirring until the time for sowing the seed, then lay out a bed six feet wide, and as long as you please; make the surface smooth, and enclose it with common boards ten or twelve inches in width set edgewise perpendicularly, one-half their width under ground and held in place by stakes driven at the joints and centres.
"The Cauliflower"
A. A. Crozier
Green plants, straw or leaves, when plowed under or Spaded in the soil, are attacked by bacterial agencies which gradually turn these products into humus.
"A Living from the Land"
William B. Duryee