# Gardens



## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Due to heavy rains in our area last spring we lost 30 years of garden amendments right down to the hard clay. DH and I are not young anymore and just can't start over, so we decided to try one more time using the layered method in a much smaller space. There's only the two of us to feed anyway. The first picture is the original garden site and is about a quarter acre. The second picture is the first layered area and if it works out, we'll add another.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Is that in a frame?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

It's just deck boards all the way around to hold the composting materials from washing out when it rains. We had some old ones left after replacing the warped ones on our deck. Some of the pictures we looked at just mounded up under the plastic.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

So you have a layer of collapsed cardboard and then a layer of mulch? 

I'm asking so others know what you're doing. I have seen them do that on TV once.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Cardboard, household compost, grass clippings (if available ) or straw, chicken manure/hay. Just repeat to fit your needs. I saw one gardener who used a little fertilizer. ( We didnt). Cover with plastic and let "cook" all winter.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I've been told to stay away from hay because it could have a lot of weed seeds. 

No water needed or did you water it before the plastic? 

I could do leaves, got a ton of those. I could probably get uncomposted cow manure from the local cattle guy.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Not hay, straw.... Either water between layers or in our case, we had good rains. I think that iin the deeper compost piles it gets hot enough to kill seeds of anykind.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I think any kind of manure will work as long as you start now so it can burn itself out.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do you realize you've started me off on wanting to add another thing to my to do list?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Lol! Get after it!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

As soon as I'm done with the other half dozen things I'm already in the middle of.

Although maybe that's what I should turn the recently retired hubs loose on.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Well the retired DH did this because his wife is still working!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok, I'm back with more pictures. My last post here of the lasagna (layered) garden. Gramps took the plastic cover off the layered garden bed to see the results and to hoe the grass out of it. I guess because he used clear (ish) plastic that the weeds could grow. Here's what the soil looks like compared with our regular garden soil. The first 2 pix are the layered garden cardboard and all composted
and the other is just our regular clay soil.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I hope it's as good as it looks! Here's also a picture of one of my plum tree ready to burst out with blooms. I sure hope we don't get a frost. I don't remember anything ever blooming this early!


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