We decided to go with lasagna gardening, as the soil here is quite horrid without sufficient amendment, which we couldn't do in our time frame and without spending a large sum of money.
It was pretty disappointing though that our initial layer of soil was almost as bad as our own soil; we purchased it from Sutherland's and from a distance it looked great. It wasn't. Hopefully it won't be a hindrance to our success.
 |
Layering our rows; far left is some topsoil on cardboard, middle row is getting it's first layer of straw, and I'm spreading decomposed manure/humus on the far right layer. |
We also planted some lovely potatoes by the house and will also plant some 2 year old asparagus roots somewhere soon. We also have garlic to plant but I don't know yet where I will put them either. I'm afraid I over-crowded the potatoes though, so I may thin those out once they start to grow.
I may still also try to find a way to add some cauliflower, and next month some carrots. We all love and eat lots of cauliflower, so we should at least give it a try!
Once the summer garden can be started I plan on adding tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, summer squash, cucumbers, and okra.
SO MUCH FUN!
We're also hoping to get chickens soon! Not sure if that will work out, but we really want to try.
I think you're actually supposed to plant garlic in September or October. It's seems counterintuitive, but I've heard that multiple times from people who garden a lot.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of lasagna gardening. I hope it turns out well for you! I got WAY over ambitious my first gardening year (just last year :) and packed probably a quarter acre worth of planting into 2'X5' spot. lol. yeah, it didn't do so well. Even after thinning it was still WAY to crowded. I'm hopeing for better results this year. I just put in some spring strawberries and fall/spring onions. More to come this weekend and next I hope!
ReplyDeleteI SO look forward to reading more about this endeavor and especially the chickens. I hope you have eggs to spare!
Rita -- you're right that garlic is typically planted in the fall. The variety I bought *claims* to be able to be planted from fall all the way *through* spring and still produce garlic, so we'll see! I figured for $3 it's worth a shot, anyway.
ReplyDeleteLasagna gardening is great, Jessica, if your soil is poor, stays too wet, etc., I've done lasagna gardening before in Texas with good success, so hopefully we'll see similar results here! Ideally, even a lasagna garden would be started in the fall, giving all your organic materials time to start decomposing for absolute best results, but of course, we weren't here in the fall, so we're doing the best we can in spite of that!
We're planning on starting out small with the chickens, and I'm not sure we'll even have enough eggs for us and David's parents (we each go through almost 2 dozen a week). But we haven't actually made any firm decisions on the number of chickens will get, etc., so it could happen! :)
lasagna gardening is great!
ReplyDeleteI've been working on my garden too and it's been so amazing! I am LOVING this weather.
I'm glad to hear another great gardener confirm that lasagna gardening is the way to go! I used to garden quite a bit with my folks, but it's been years so I feel like I'm starting from scratch almost.
ReplyDeleteThis weather IS amazing. I spent yesterday cleaning out the garage instead of in the garden, but there will be plenty more time for gardening this week! I'm hoping to get over to Emily's later this week, too, and help the girls start a tiny garden. Thought they'd enjoy that. :)
Lovely, Megan! I will have to share some photos of my garden. I do have some from last year, though. Oklahoma gardening is so much harder and it's definitely so much different than my Washington garden was!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, do indeed share photos of your garden! I've always admired your gardening abilities.
ReplyDelete