Lucy and I spent a good hour in the garden yesterday raking up pine needles and then moving the pesky little suckers up the hillside to the lasagna garden.
It’s amazing how you can create good, rich soil for FREE if you are just willing to wait a year or two for it to decompose.
Over the past year and a half we have been adding plant trimmings, grass clippings, compost and other random leaf litter to a large {maybe 6′ x 20′} section to the backyard in hopes of building up the area for a perennial flower bed.
And it’s finally paying off! The lasagna garden is now about 10-12 inches deep and will be ready to plant this fall. Plus, we have been able to save roughly $150 because from our garden budget simply because we went the slow route and built the garden bed ourself rather than paying $25 a yard to have a topsoil/compost blend delivered.
When you factor in the money saved from canceling our yard waste pickup {at the start of the year} the overall savings really adds up. Imagine that. Going the slow and simple route costs less. 😉
Have a great day everyone,
~ Mavis
Veronica says
How do you replenish the minerals in your soil, like magnesium and calcium?
Phyllis says
Veronica, without a soil test, I wouldn’t replentish ANY rock minerals. NPK leach through the soil and nitrogen can also be lost to the air, but minerals are rocks. They release into the soil slowly and remain stable for very long periods of time. Use caution before adding minerals because they are hard to get rid of if you over do it.
Veronica says
Thanks!