A few weeks ago I was in my back yard, pruning my tree, in a tank top and shorts. I was sweating in the sun. Two days later I was freezing my butt off.
Every time the first warm sun hits me, I get that itch. I want to dig, I want to plant. Then the freeze gets me down.
This time, instead of throwing myself into planting beautiful baby plants that freeze to death, I built new planter boxes to hold my new "Lasagne Garden". I live in an area with stubborn clay soil (perfect for cobb ovens.....if you need some), and hard pan that is only about 2 ft down. Stinks for planting & growing. I read an article about farmers in the dessert using this planting method, so here I go.
If you Google "Lasagne Gardening", you will get several variations. Basically, you building a compost pile and planting in it. You alternate layers of green & brown material: grass, compost, leaves, straw, etc....
I laid down newspaper to kill the weeds, covered it with compost, bone meal, blood meal, alfalfa straw, straw...repeat. I am letting this settle a bit, then repeating again...and planting directly into it in a few weeks when my sprouts are ready.
It looks great! What kind of wood did you use for the planter boxes?
ReplyDeleteDouglas Fir. You know, they say it does not hold up well without being "prepped". Since I do not want chemicals leaching into my food, I do just let them be natural, with the knowledge that I may have to replace them after a few seasons. BUT, my other boxes are Fir also, thinner wood, and they have held up for 4 years already...untreated :).
ReplyDelete