As we set out to expand our gardening space this spring, I assumed that I would continue creating a sheet mulch or lasagna garden, slowing adding layers of organic material to build soil without disturbing its layers. You see, as someone who studied and taught ecology for many years, I know that organisms live where they live for specific reasons. Soil is really a complex habitat for billions of organisms that thrive in their unique layers. Turn over or till those layers, and you run the risk of disturbing these organisms, and they cannot do their work of building soil quite as effectively. But the reality is that I ran out of steam layering cardboard, straw and manure. Spring is … [Read more...]
Spring on the Homestead
Like so many homesteaders I talk with these days, we are in the midst of our busiest season. Summer harvest days can also be full, but there is nothing like the surge of spring energy to tackle lists of tasks that have accumulated all winter long! Here's a glimpse into what's happening on our homestead. Canning Black Walnut Syrup We took the many cups and pints of black walnut syrup that we boiled down over several weeks' time and consolidated them. In total, we got about a gallon and a quart of syrup! Here's an earlier post about tapping our trees. Building a Blacksmith Shop For the past year and a half, Brian's been working out of the shop on a neighboring piece of land. … [Read more...]
Building Soil with Lasagna Gardening
One year ago, my garden looked like this: And with a lot of moving and shaping and layering, it became this: Our land is steeply sloped, and when we began to plant into it, we noticed that much of the topsoil from the hilltop had washed down to the lowlands due to poor agricultural practices. Our house and garden are situated near the top of the hill, and as such, the soil quality is poor. To create a healthy, resilient garden with few pests and disease, I knew I had to greatly improve my soil. Building Soil with Lasagna Gardening Building soil is the key to growing nutrient dense food in your garden, and it is the subject of Susan Vinskofski's new eBook, The Art of … [Read more...]
Create an Instant Garden with Sheet Mulching
This weekend I took advantage of the gorgeous sunshine and direct-sowed some spring crops - peas, lettuce, spinach, radish, and kale - in the lovely raised beds of our house-sitting home. Thinking ahead to our move in May (ish), I'm also creating a summer garden space on our land with the sheet mulching technique. Sheet mulching is a way to create an instant garden by deeply layering organic materials. If you have a large backyard, imagine turning a corner of your lawn into a space to grow food! On our land, we will most likely plow a piece of earth in the fall for next year's planting, but this summer sheet mulching will create an immediate growing space, with no tilling. Sheet … [Read more...]