Creating a New Garden

Starting a layered bed was the task tackled on Saturday.

We had to move our garden because of continual flooding.  It was a depressing idea when we discussed it last fall after another flood washed out our garden again.  I know that it is a job that has to be done, but it is still a bit overwhelming.  We just started a new asparagus bed last year and our garden was in the second year of no tilling.  The soil was really nice to work with and the weeding was incredibly easy.  It is hard to start all over again.  I prepped three new rows last fall but that is only one quarter of the size of our old garden.

We created the fourth row by using the layered approach.  The first layer is cardboard laid on the grass and soaked.

The second layer is compost that was mixed last year.





The third layer is rotted horse manure from my sister-in-law Tracy's horses.  The fourth layer is shredded leaves from last fall.  We then added a thin layer of coffee grounds and finished it off with another layer of compost.  Each layer was wet before the next layer was added.

We decided to cover the entire row to allow it to heat faster and decompose.  My plan is to plant in it by the end of May. 

You can see from the pictures that we also have decided to leave grass in the walking paths.  I am hoping that this is a good decision, but time will tell.  We are starting with 3' wide rows and 3' wide walking paths.  I have a feeling that the rows will grow with time so I wanted to start with a wide walking path.