Our new No-Dig Garden!
Friday, April 24th, 2009Last weekend we (Elliott, Steven, and I) built our no-dig garden in our front yard. This technique, which you can learn more about here and here, is a method which uses less water, no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and maintains the natural balance and integrity of the native soil. Basically, you plant above ground in layers of alfalfa hay (also known as Lucerne hay) and rich soil/manure/compost, with a layer of straw on top and soggy cardboard on the bottom. The top layer of straw keeps in the moisture and warmth, as well as prevents weeds from growing. The alfalfa will breakdown and to enrich the soil layer. The cardboard will help retain water. Here’s how we did ours:
Steps:
1. Cleared the cedar mulch that the landlord had on the plot.
2. Used 2″ X 8″ boards to build front three vertical sides, used the pre-existing railroad tie for back border
3. Soaked ground
4. Layed down one, non-overlapping, layer of cardboard
5. Soaked cardboard
6. Spread 1/3 of a bale of Alfalfa hay over cardboard
7. Soaked hay
8. Added approximately 6 inches of soil/ composted material/ manure mixed with top soil
9. Soaked soil
10. Added a layer of straw to completely cover
11. Soaked straw
12. Wait a few days before planting
Thank you Steven for this nice image:
