One of my favorite gardening books is “Square Foot Garden” by Mel Bartholomew, but I like the older version better than the newer one. My biggest complaint is the fact that Bartholomew sets such store in raised beds. Not that I have anything against raised beds. I think that they are great, provided one has easy access to good soil and LOTS of it. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case.
But then I wondered, couldn’t I build soil? Okay, I know that I’ll not recreate the ice age or anything, but I can make compost and plants can grow in that. It was worth a try.
So far the evil plan is working pretty nicely. This past year I successfully grew a season’s worth of food on my made from scratch soil.
And as a dutiful big sister, I decided to try the same trick on my little brother. I hope it turns out better than the time I convinced him that he could walk on hot coals barefooted.
So we built two beds in his backyard with posts and rabbit fencing. He’ll fill them with his Fall leaves and lots of coffee grounds, a good basic recipe for compost. Local coffee shops will save them for gardeners. Add to that kitchen scraps and a bucket of compost from my own pile (like sourdough starter) and he should have the beginnings of some great soil. Every year, he can continue to build the soil. The rabbit fencing helps keep out his dog and any rabbit brave enough to enter the backyard while the dog is in it. The boards for those raised beds can come later.
To learn more about this method, see http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm.
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| Build them and fill them! Fall is the perfect season. |
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