I debated for weeks where I should plant my potatoes and in one of those I-need-to-get-these-in-the-ground and I-cannot-put-this-off-any-longer realization moments, I thought of lasagna gardening. I have never lasagna gardened before, but the idea of throwing some layers of organic matter down {on top of the ground} sounded easier than digging, building boxes or even or mixing up some new gardening soil {like I do for my square foot beds}.
The process was simple and we had all the "ingredients" on hand, including willing helpers and a beautiful sunny day (the one sunny day we had that week).
The process was simple and we had all the "ingredients" on hand, including willing helpers and a beautiful sunny day (the one sunny day we had that week).
The simple method:
- Soak thick pads of newspaper {you can also use cardboard} and lay them down in your planting area overlapping (to prevent grass from growing through).
- Place your seed potatoes on the wet newspaper and cover with straw.
- As they grow, add more straw so that only 4-5 inches of potato plant is showing.
This makes for a clean, easy harvest, but smaller potatoes according to the book so I opted to add a layer of compost on top and then the straw. I have not had any peek up yet, but I looked to see if they were growing and saw lots of roots coming from the potato I checked.
I am so thankful for that sunny day and for small moments of energy and motivation to get a few things done!
We had another sunny day this week - a whopping 79 degrees! But, with the humidity (40%), it felt like 90! :D I sat in the garden and weeded and mulched the strawberries and planted a few starts (cucumber, tomato, and peppers). I also peeked on the cool weather seeds I planted (lettuce, peas, swiss chard). We have not passed the date for our last frost (which is in early June), so I have to keep up with making sure the warm weather starts are covered nightly {and sometimes daily}. I planted my leeks and onions that I started from seed and didn't think they would make it, but they are doing fine.
Here is what I have planted so far:
- carrots
- lettuce
- swiss chard
- onion
- leeks
- chives
- parsnips (with white radish to mark the rows)
- red potato
- tomato (Oregon Spring Bush)
- pickling cucumber
- bell pepper
Still want to plant:
- zucchini
- sweet dumpling squash (started)
- watermelon (started)
- pumpkin (started)
- corn (small patch)
- sunflower (to shade the chickens)
- beans
- garlic
- dill
Not sure I will have room for all that!
Our humble urban homestead before planting. It is so much prettier without the straw, but we have to add it to conserve water and keep the cat out.
Repurposed flower bed - now a bed of shade tolerant peas.
Crab apple in full bloom. So pretty and fragrant, I love this tree in Spring.
Today, I am thankful for the rain and the sun that will follow it (sometime soon) and that the guys are on their way home from our mountain homestead. It has been a long 3 days without them and I am looking forward to hearing about all the work they got done. . . and hoping that I am feeling well enough to go next time - I am hoping to do some planting up there, too. :D
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