progress report and lasagna gardening

by now, all the seeds are in their pots on my front porch and several are up and sprouted. cold weather crops like radishes (the fastest germinating veggie, mine were up in two days), beets, carrots, kale, arugula, lettuces, cabbages, and spinach need the cool, damp days and chilly nights we are having right now to germinate and be tasty. these crops will be pretty much done by the time june or july rolls around, so enjoy them at their peak in a few weeks! if you haven't planted them, it isn't too late. buy a bag of good potting mix (get metro mix, secret garden, (502) 426-2216), a couple of fun pots (plastic is lightweight and cheap), and a few packets of seeds. follow the directions on the packet, keep them very well-watered, and in a few weeks you'll be eating baby carrots in salads and yummy beets and spinach too. i never liked these veggies until i tasted them fresh out of the dirt...i have all my pots on my tiny front porch, so you really don't need much room at all.

second topic: lasagna gardening. i like lasagna. i like gardening. i had to check it out. so, what is it?

think a layer-cake, except instead of cream cheese frosting and strawberries, you have compost, hay, and straw. layering your organic materials in piles on top of the ground are great for gardeners with bad dirt (the concept originated in australia and is popular out west in desert climates), gardeners with a small space who want a large yield of plants, or gardeners who are renting or might not be in a permanent location. i took these instructions from an excerpt in Organic Gardening, Dec/Jan 2010/2011 from an article titled "A Layered Approach" by Debra Prinzing:

How to Grow Without Digging:

add these ingredients in a raised bed (chicken wire, untreated wood, concrete blocks, etc)...

2 to 3 lbs bloodmeal and bonemeal

newspaper

1 bale herbicide-free alfalfa hay

1 bale herbicide-free bedding straw

10 cubic feet of compost

1. moisten your ground level soil and dust with the bloodmeal and bonemeal. you will repeat this step of watering and dusting after each layer of anything is added to your pile

2. cover with 1/2 " newspaper

3. add 4" alfalfa

4. add 8" straw

5. add 4" compost

remember the bloodmeal, bonemeal, and water between each layer.

sow seeds in the compost and mulch with straw. between your crops, add more compost and straw to your "lasagna" garden. keep the pile moist, especially while seeds are sprouting and small. this "recipe" makes one 4-by-8 ' raised bed.

enjoy huge, healthy veggies in a tiny amount of space!

next blog: garden design and layout

                 heirloom veggies

                 houseplant springtime tips