Grow organic food without spending $

Step 5 SHEET MULCH

Now we are going to begin making the beds, this methods requires no weeding, digging, or tilling, instead relies on lots of composting in place. You are also adding to the soil from the top instead of taking away nutrients every season you dig and till the soil, plus you are saving lots of yard waste from ending up in a landfill.

When I first read about sheet mulching I was a bit skeptical, but I can personally attest that within a week there were worms where the soil used to be had pale alkaline clay, and the worms will mix the sheet mulch with what is underneath.

On a nice day soon after you have collected your cardboard, your many many bags of yard waste and a good amount of "raw compost" (uncomposted compost). Start laying out your beds, garden hose is a good way to delineate the shapes of your beds, or use rocks, sticks, chalk lines, etc.

LAYER 1:
hack down any weeds and leave them there, use a garden fork to make some holes in the ground but dont dig it up (that disrupts the soils structure)
LAYER 2:
water well and toss down a bunch of the raw compost, don't worry that it is un-rotted, it will be by the time any roots get to it, this makes a great place for worms and beneficial microbes to thrive
LAYER 3:
now cardboard, make sure the edges overlap at least 4 inches, or one inch stacks of news paper. This block weeds from coming up. Water the cardboard till its soggy
LAYER 4:
cover with green grass clippings, not to many like a good half inch.
LAYER 5: 9" to 12" of bulk organic material, like leaves, pine needles (no too many of these as they are pretty acidic) seedless straw, spoiled hay, clippings. The best is to layer all kinds of things. Toss in a few handfuls of finished compost if you can get some, this will ensure that there are beneficial microbes in there to begin the composting in place process. Water very thoroughly.
LAYER 6:
2 inches of garden soil mixed with some finished compost. This is so you have something to plant seeds/seedlings in.
LAYER 7:
Mulch: Nut shells, woodchips.
this traps the moisture in the whole business.

EDGING: rocks, bricks, broken concrete, wood, bottles, old tires cut in half for a scalloped edge. Tin cans driven into the ground a few inches. this will keep weeds out and your bed materials from spreading.

You can begin planting right away but it will be even better if you can do it a few months ahead of time.

Comments

[rapidprototyping]

Tomatoes can be dehydrated or canned. Garlic can be dehydrated as well as onions. Herbs certainly can be saved for later use. but trading produce at farmers markets can give you other consumables or other things to preserve for the larder. Once you start getting ahead remember to rotate your inventory. A recent study showed the cost of beef if we were to include fossil fuels would be nearer to fourty dollars a pound. I mean it's just not going to be practical to have everyone eating beef and pork in the future. I have gone towards more fruits and vegitables as well as nuts for my protien and found the amout i spent to be less for fruit and nuts then say for beef and feel better as well. Not every climate allows every crop to grow but seeds are available from climates like yours from across the globe look into what can grow in Australia they now grow kiwi's who would thunk they do good now exported off season to other markets

[katz]

For those who work in an office: the ones that have a big canteen - you can ask them to save fruit and veg peelings If the office is small there still should be a coffee machine (filter or automated one with round, one-serving, bags) You can either empty your machine before cleaners come round or, if you don't have a filter machine - put a big jar next to the place where people make themselves tea or coffee and put a sign on it "please put your used tea-coffee bags in this jar, they will be recycled) The bosses might even thank you for reducing their expenses for waste disposal.

[A good name]

Will this all decompose over the winter?

[kitsuken]

Probably, but that's why pickling was invented! Just make pickle, chutney or jam out of whatever extra you grow to avoid waste and ensure you have food during winter.