Almost ready for planting!

This weekend we added two more layers: crushed leaves(thank you Collins family), and compost from the City of Lincoln. We need to get one more load of compost, and we will be ready for planting!

Jackson enjoyed the leaves.

Our mower has a mulching blade on it, so we used it to chop up our leaves.

 

The compost from the City of Lincoln was great. 

Hannah is a hard worker, she is really into it.

We ran out of compost before we could get the last two boxes filled, so Ill get another load next weekend.

Progress report

Levi loves the tractor.

  This week we finished the boxes. It was fun to use wood salvaged from Angie's Great Grandparents' barn. Angie's Great Grandpa was a  very good farmer and I'm sure he would enjoy seeing his barn wood put to good use.

Saturday we got a load of horse manure from a local stable . Contact us if you need horse manure and we will  get you connected. 

We laid down the first few layers. First was cardboard. This is to keep the weeds from growing up into our lasagna. 

We need to alternate between "green" and "brown" materials as we layer the garden. First comes a few inches of our horse manure. 

We decided to cut some of the grass that was left from last year to use as a "brown" layer. The grass along our fence was nice and dry, and full of corn leaves from the field. I just cut down the  grass with either the weed eater or the tractor, and then we gathered it up and placed it on the garden. The biggest issue was the 30mph winds from the South! The kids were very good workers and we got the job done.

A bit of water helped keep the clippings from blowing away.

Next up was some compost that came from what used to be a pile of wood. 15+ years ago a storm came through and damaged a lot of trees on the property. The resulting wood pile sat basically undisturbed until our family moved in. We used the top of the pile for firewood, and found wonderful compost below.

Here is the site of the wood pile. Only a few pieces of solid wood remain. The rest is either gone, or crumbles in your hands.

That is where we called it a day. I can see how this is going to become a great way to garden, especially when we can build up our stockpile of materials. We plan on adding a few more layers and then we will be ready to plant!
-Kurt

Where to begin?

We purchased our seeds from Gurneys.
Everyone got something that they wanted.

Lasagna Gardening is a method of growing plants by building layers of organic materials on a piece of ground, and then planting the garden in the layers. Patricia Lanza calls it "Lasagna" gardening because the process reminds her of making lasagna.


Why is this method appealing? Lets see...

• no digging, or tilling.
• Less weeds, and when they do pop up they pull out with ease.
• A great environment for plants to grow
• No need for chemicals and special fertilizers

Sounds great, right? Well, we are going to give it our best shot. I am confident that we will have a great time no matter how successful we are.
So, getting started.
First, a spot(or spots) need to be selected. Consider the amount of sun that will shine on the location, along with water drainage. It doesn't matter really if there is grass or weeds or just dirt on your location(more on that later).

Here is our spot. The rock will be removed.

We picked a level place behind our house that is near our outdoor hydrant. We plan on building 4 boxes out of 2X6 or 2X8 lumber(no floor in the boxes) to fill up with our lasagna. Hannah, Natalie and Caleb each wanted their own box, and the rest of us get a box. They are going to be 4 feet wide for ease of access without actually stepping on the garden. Length will be determined when we get the size of our plot finalized.

So what is the Lasagna made of? I'm glad you asked.

mmmm coffee! Thanks to The Blend we are going to have
plenty of coffee grounds for out compost.

The first layer should be either cardboard, or a thick layer of wet newspaper. This is the boundary layer that doesn't allow weeds or grass to grow. On top of that can be layers of just about any organic material. Patricia Lanza says to develop a "Mulch" mentality. We have found that it is easy to find great mulch materials for free, or very little. We are building our own compost using household waste, grass clippings(from our acreage), sawdust(free from local lumber yards), coffee grounds(free from The Blend in Lincoln) and horse manure(free from a local stable). It is not a good idea to use anything with animal fat in it because it can smell and draw animals to your pile. Don't use dog and cat waste either because it can carry disease.
We plan on using straw, peat moss and leaves as well.

Here is a list of things Patricia Lanza(on page 9 of Lasagna Gardening) suggests that will make great mulch:

• animal manures
• compost
• corn cobs
• grass clippings
• hay
• leaves (chopped)
• peat moss
• salt hay
• sawdust
• seaweed/kelp
• stalks (chopped)
• straw
• wood ashes

Next up: preparing our  location.

The Beginning

No posts yet, they will be starting soon. I promise!
Kurt