Earth Day Lasagna Bed

Every day by default is Earth Day here at the Confluence, so we didn't do anything out of the ordinary to celebrate.  For me, today has been one of those weirdly productive days.  Those are few and far between.  School went beautifully - even math!  I cooked three meals.  Dishes are washed and kitchen is swept.  I've done a load of laundry and changed the bed linens.  I've fed the chickens and goats.  I bathed all three little gals and myself.  I submitted a manuscript.  And... we dug another lasagna bed.

When you are homesteading (sort of) and the partner isn't home long enough to mow grass on most weeks, you become industrious.  The goal is to grow most of our vegetables ourselves.  Organic produce is hard to come by in these parts, and that is what we desire.  I love growing things and always have.  So, I came up with a plan to do it myself with the simple garden tools we had on hand.  Lasagna beds cost nothing.

Step One - Be ready to work and don't be a whiner.  Oh, and grab your tools.

We found this shovel in the hills.  I have no clue what type it is, but it makes the work simple and easy on the back.  

Step Two - Get down and dirty... remove the sod layer and set it aside to use later.  I remove it in rectangles.  You'll end up with this.

Step Three - Make a trench.  You can make a deep or shallow one.  I have beds where I have done both.  The deeper ones will require more filling and I save those for when I have cardboard to use.  I'm starting to believe all that isn't necessary though, so this one ended up 5 inches deep all around.  I make the trench by loosening the dirt with the hoe and shoveling it out.  Put the dirt aside.  This is your topsoil and you will use it later.

Step Four - Fill your trench with organic debris.  I gathered mine from the forest floor.  It's sticks and leaves mostly.  The girls wanted to put in some goat poop, so I said "have at it."  Deladis added a rotting plum too.  Whatever.  As long as it will contribute to rich, healthy soil.  One of the buckets you see next to the bed is composted chicken manure.  We will use that in a later step.  Yes, sometimes good food requires playing in poop.

Step Five - Top the debris with the sod.  Turn the clumps grass side down to kill out the weeds and grass.

Step Six - Mix your manure and topsoil on top of this and spread evenly.  Use the hoe to break up clumps.  Surround your bed with some kind of barrier to set it apart from the yard.  Voila!  You're done.  

Let the bed rest a day or so and then plant it.  I plant veggies much closer together in these beds than a traditional garden and still get good yield.  This bed took about two hours to make.  We'll see how well it does.  The point is that it is doable for a lone mother with littles around all the time.  The girls loved helping.  Gweneth thought the wind was going to blow her away, but she hung tight.  The goats ate the buds off of all my irises too.  It's a give and take.  Good luck if you give it a try!