It's that time here -- time to prepare the garden beds for whatever summer edibles you plan to grow. Dave's wanted to make raised beds for ages, so last week we bought many board-feet of treated 2-x-10, 4-x-4, and 2-x-4, and assembled our boxes.
Then, we started putting Dave's research into action, i.e. layering the lasagna.
The first layer in each box is newspaper (6 sheets thick). Newspaper helps retain water, attracts earthworms, and something else I can't remember right now. And let me tell you, laying down the paper was FUN because it was really WINDY. We wet the paper to keep it in place and got a layer that resembled
decoupage.
Next, we put down a layer of leaves, conveniently raked, bagged, and left on the curb by a neighbor (thanks, anonymous and unaware neighbor!). We put about 4 inches of leaves down, then walked on them to break them up a bit, then wet them, too.
The next layer was hay, about 4 inches uncompacted and sprinkled with
vermiculite.
Then 4 inches of compost, which was nice and warm (ahhh!), but smelled like ammonia (eeee...). More vermiculite mixed in.
Then 4 inches of alfalfa (which Dave said he'd never feed to an animal -- it had gotten wet and was really dusty -- poor feed but good nitrogen source for our beds).
More vermiculite.
Then we made a big mix of our leftover potting soil from '08, mulch from our in-ground garden ('08), more alfalfa, paper from my shredder (*woot* recycling), and the last of the vermiculite. We mixed all this in the bed of the truck (which makes me want to mix a ginormous batch of cookie dough in the truck -- wouldn't that rock? and also be
extremely difficult?). That mixture made a nice 4-inch layer of undersoil, which we topped with "worm castings", which to me brings to mind the castings archaeologists made of the poor saps at
Pompeii, but is actually
a frou-frou term for worm crap. It looks like sand.
Today, we got a cubic yard of rose soil from
Garden-Ville, and put down 4 inches of that.
On top will go 4 inches of mulch, but not till the tomato roots have had a chance to get toasty in their new digs.
Have you been doing the math? ("28 inches of stuff in 22-inch-tall boxes? Say what?") Short answer: it compacts.
Lesson: sometimes math doesn't work.
Kidding. You're just doing it wrong. Math always works. (*woot* math)
Anyhoo, we got a head start today and planted some little lettuces (Merlot, Salad Bowl, Red Sails, Royal Oak) and arugula. Awww...
And everything's a go for our tomato seedlings (currently being tended by
this dude in Boerne). We think they arrive this month.
For now, the lasagna garden is mostly plantless. From the street, the beds sort of look like golem coffins...
...but once the tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers (and whatever else) get tall and productive, they'll form a nice natural fence.
Also, there will be yummy salads, etc, and many photos to make you all envious. You're welcome!
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