I learned this tip years ago and recently passed it on to Julie. You can read about it and see a picture at her blog located here.
Please note my comment on her site - when starting a new bed you don't even have to till. Just lay down about 8 layers of wet newspaper and build on top of that.
All of this wonderful information is found in one of my favorite books "Lasagna Gardening" available at Amazon. When you shop at Amazon through my blog, by using the link in my side bar, a small percentage of whatever you buy helps pay the fees to keep my site online. I truly appreciate it...thanks :)
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So does this method not utilize the base dirt at all? Will the plant roots penetrate the newspaper?
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to how much dirt you import on top of the newspaper?
Hi Cheri
ReplyDeleteI've started doing this sort of gardening the past couple years. I skip the newspaper step and just start covering it with old hay and compost. Of course, if you do this the year before it works better. If the grass doesn't get any light, it won't grow. I just consider it green manure. My latest experiment has been just using only hay with a little wood ashes sprinkled in. Hay is the perfect carbon/nitrigen ratio for making compost. May first one was made with hay/compost/ashes/chicken manure/kitchen scraps.
Clint, the composting hay and other material loosens the soil under it. It also brings up the earthworms and they help a great deal. After a year or so the soil is very loose. I scratch away a hole in the hay and work up the dirt with a trowel. Then I dump some compost in the hole to bring it back up to the level of the top hay. We grow all our summer squash on this type of garden. I have had good results with cukes last year.
Hi Clint,
ReplyDeleteScott is absolutely right! What you add to the bed, on top of the newspaper, is up to you and how deep you want your beds to start out with.. I would suggest reading the book Lasagna Gardening for a complete picture of how to do this.It is a wonderful way to start a new area...I usually do this the year before I want to start a new bed.
Scott,
Thanks for the suggestion - how did the hay/ashes experiment work?