New and improved garden

We got the garden in shape the weekend of Memorial Day and the week after. There are still a few things to do. We had problems with the deer last year. B would not let me use electric or razor wire (hee hee). So we went with an internet suggestion of two fences and a moat. It also meant finding a taller gate (thank goodness we did not throw out that screen door!) Something about depth perception. I will definately let you know how this goes! And, of course, since she has a garden elf or two, she wanted the garden bigger this year. We squared off the fence and put the strawberry patch in with the rest. And that meant there was room for more trenches. But the soil really bites in this area (old and new trenches). We had to add a lot of topsoil and stuff this year. And digging down was not cutting it.

So the new trenches are a technique called lasagna gardening. Basically, you build up using organic materials in layers - leaves, grass clippings, shredded newspaper, kitchen compost and dirt. You build up 18 - 24" of stuff and plant on top. You can build these beds as you have things, like all spring adn summer and fall and let the cook for the following year or build them and plant on them immediately. We planted and the corn seeds are sprouting like crazy. We actually had a huge volunteer pumpkin plant last year in our leaf compost bin (and I mean leaves only....) Course, it looks like I have been hiding bodies out there (but that would just be way, way to obvious now, wouldn't it....) Will keep you updated on how this works.

We have tomatoes, peppers, celery, basil, lettuce, cucs, gourds, zucs, greenbeans, soybeans, corn, popcorn, carrots, and broccoli. onions and parsley by the house.