As much as I might have hoped for some big flashy fanfare for the first official day of building our new homestead, Mother Nature had other plans. The morning isn’t uncomfortable but the sky is heavy and dark, warning of heavy rain that would make working with the heavy clay soil even more of a challenge than normal. Knowing that would be the case I took the liberty of doing a bit of prep work a couple of days ago when the weather was a bit more agreeable.
In order to begin building the soil in one of the more promising areas of the property (i.e. it is almost flat), I framed out an 8’ x 16’ area in which to start a lasagna garden. If you’re not familiar with the term, lasagna gardening is a process of layering organic material and using that material to plant your garden in. It is a no dig method that will also have the added benefit of fortifying the ground below, so I call it a win-win. The first layers are cardboard and wet leaves and we will be adding layers of peat moss, newspaper and other organic materials as well over the coming weeks in preparation for planting after the last frost.
Just behind the mobile home is a steep embankment that leads up the hill into the woods where construction of a new home and will eventually begin. I wanted to make the walkway safer but didn’t want a traditional obvious set of steps.
As you can see in the photo (click it to make it larger), I opted to use an old landscape timber to finish off the new earthen steps. It was important to me that the path look as natural and unassuming as possible, as though it had been there all along. Though the project isn’t yet complete you can get a good idea of what it might look like when finished.
When complete, the path will be framed on both sides by a hill of native ferns, grasses and day lilies.
Because we keep the thermostat set in the sixties for the most part, starting this season’s seeds was going to be something of a challenge until John had the ingenious idea of using a hidden away space in the drop ceiling in the kitchen. The CFL bulbs save tons on the electricity bill so we don’t feel guilty about leaving this fixture on 24/7 to keep the secret seed nursery warm enough to germinate. Space is at a premium right now and this solution has the added benefit of keeping the seeds and seedlings completely out of the way while they are kept warm and cozy.
With all this newly discovered seed starting space, I might just have to start a few more this afternoon.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Very cool Michael. It will be fun to track your progress. That’s always a great story to follow. Who doesn’t love a good mystery, right?
True enough, my friend.
Super exciting … can’t wait to read about where this grows.
Love lasagna gardening, so easy and makes such a great growing medium. Good luck on the new project.
{ 1 trackback }