In yesterday’s program, Cathy Isom explained the benefits of no-dig garden bed vegetable gardening. Today Cathy gives you some good tips on building your own no-dig garden bed. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Building Your Own No Dig Garden Bed
Now that we know the benefits of having a no dig garden bed, we should definitely consider building one. The easiest and least labor-intensive method is sheet mulching – or the lasagna method. Layer upon layer of organic material atop the soil. This creates a raised bed in the beginning, but over time the materials will decompose into the soil. Get started by cutting down the weeds or grass. Let the nitrogen-rich clippings stay where they are. Then, sprinkle a thin layer of more nitrogen-rich material, such as manure, compost, food scraps, over coffee grounds. Water the area, cover it with a layer of either cardboard or several layers of newspaper, and water the area again.
For the bed itself, begin by covering the cardboard with an inch layer of compost or rich topsoil. On it, pile about six to eight inches of bulk carbon material, such as straw, bedding hay, or shredded leaves. Then, it’s another one or two inches of soil or compost mulched over with two to four inches of straw, wood shavings, or shredded leaves. Remember not to walk on it, as this will compact the soil, and to simply add more organic material (mulch) as the bed ages. Just keep feeding it from the top, and before you know it, you’ll have a perfect garden for veggies to grow.
I’m Cathy Isom…