Sorry - I haven't checked the forum in a while. We planted straight into it within a couple of weeks of setting up the beds. The only digging we've done in them was this spring we tilled in a cover crop that had overwintered in a section of one of...
Look out for wireworms!
We tilled up a big section of lawn after gardening is raised beds our first year. It wasn't until we went to harvest our potatoes that we learned about wireworms....from what I've read, a few years of keeping the area cult...
So, did you garden on top of the compost (which was on top of paper) right away? How long does it all take to decompose down? Did you dig in / do you plan to dig in at all?
Hi Sue,
I way prefer cardboard to newspaper. It is thicker and decomposes more slowerly allowing some perennial lawn weeds to die as well as the grass. You don't need to deal with as many layers and the worms (here in Spokane) seem to like it bet...
We do this sheet mulching straight onto the grass. It works well. Try the local council or an architect or building company because they often go through huge amounts of paper at blueprint poster size. This is really good quality paper and can red...
Hi Sue!
I absolutely recommend using newspaper and cardboard as barriers to start a new garden area. On my farm it's the way I find easiest, most earth-friendly, most biologically sustainable and best of all, it's body friendly. My feeling is it's...
We have done this in Kansas. We use raised beds with wooden sides. We put up the sides around the section of lawn we were converting, then layered in alternate layers of topsoil/compost and raw green material (hay or grass clippings in our case). ...
I have a typical Ontario garden - large area of lawn with a couple of trees and clumps of perennial flowers around the edges. I have been gradually adding vegetable plots over the last few years but digging up the turf is hard work. I'd like to ma...
Black (or blue) plums have done very well in my garden in Eastern Ontario. Very short season, but the tree is now 6 years old and for the last couple of years has produced more fruit than we can deal with. I have to get more organized to dry the f...
I think you'll be pleased with your honeyberries. I'd say they were better than blueberries, very tart and great for cooking. They do come very early (June in the frozen North here) and they were not very productive for the first couple of years. ...
Experienced gardener of fruit and vegetables on a small scale, Have had chickens and pigs in the past. Originally from England which had a lot longer growing season!