Lasagna Gardening

We have two garden beds...The larger garden measuring 32' x 30' and is fenced. The additional garden measuring 25' x 20' is not.

The smaller garden was an addition a few years ago, to grow pumpkins, garlic, and potatoes. The deer never really bothered these crops, so we never really bothered to fence it. 

With scheduled crop rotation for this year, the smaller garden needed to be fenced or the deer would be celebrating in all of our hard work.

We decided to combine the two gardens and extend the fence. The 7 x 20 f t grass space between the gardens would need to be removed. 

Removing sod is back breaking work!

We decided to take the lasagna gardening approach and cover this space with cardboard, ash from the fire pit and chicken manure.We will also deep mulch this space with old hay and let Mother Nature and earthworms do the dirty work of removing the sod.

Nothing will be planted in this section this year.

The new fencing has been installed and the overall garden now measures 57' x 30'

Let the planting begin ;-)

Throwing seeds to the wind...

Today was sunny and beautiful with a crisp breeze...I took just a few moments out of my day to scatter some Hungarian Blue Poppy seeds along the edge of the driveway.

Deep Mulch Method

Chances are if you are an organic gardener, you have already heard of  the Ruth Stout Gardening Method. 

We have been using this method for a couple of years with amazing results, but have typically used the fresh cut grass from the lawn, as our mulch of choice. It works fantastically well, with only one problem...The gardens have grown the last couple of years and we haven't had enough grass clippings to cover the entire area.

We have decided to start off the 2015 growing season by covering the entire garden with old hay.

 No more bare dirt gardening!!! 

We will pull back the straw in rows to plant and then push it back into place as the seeds begin to sprout. We will continue to use the lawn clippings to side dress rows and cover any weeds that dare pop up.

We have learned from experience that deep mulching greatly reduces weeding and watering. As you can see in the picture below, the garlic is up and enjoying the mulch without a weed in sight.

Not like the others...

Tomato starts are coming up nicely...

 My Black Krim Tomato seeds  are from Pinetree Garden Seeds and had a 100% germination rate, but as you can see one of these starts.... is not like the others!

The stalk on this start is thicker and taller than the others. The leaf shape is rounded out compared to the tomato start pictured below.

I love surprises....

I can't wait to see if this one is a Stud or a Dud!

*Update* A big "Thank You" to reader Lara at  Woods Forest Home who let me know that this is a Potato Leaf variety. The first I had heard of such a thing. Where have I been this whole time? I found this Post on Potato Leaf Tomatoes written in layman's terms over at This garden is illegal hop on over and check it out if you are like me, and did not know about Potato Leaf Tomatoes.

Old Miss Daisy

Old Miss Daisy knows a warm spot when she sees one.....You can usually find her flopped down near the greenhouse or sprawled out across the back yard.

 Just the thought of gardening wears her out!

A New Arm

Well some days I feel like I am in need of a new arm... but today the greenhouse received a brand new arm :-)

An actuator arm... that is!

Troy had to reinstall the old windows so they would open outwards, to accommodate the actuator. The lovely chippy paint will get a paint job when  the weather gets warmer.

The arm worked like a charm and did it's thing when the greenhouse heated up today...Allowing cool air to flow in.

If the greenhouse gets to warm, the exhaust fan has a thermostat and will kick on too.