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| I recently expanded my garden by using cardboard to smother some grass. We laid the cardboard this past Saturday (5/24) and covered with 6-8 inches of top soil. The next step will be to mix in some compost which will get us a little bit more height, but not much. Since the bed will be quite shallow for the duration of veggie season, I'm concerned with what to plant. Any suggestions that would fit the bill? Thanks! |
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| Leafy greens but it is getting late for them as summer comes on. Cukes 'might' do ok but any root crops, tomatoes, peppers, etc. are out. So are squash or melons. There is time before fall garden planting time in July to beef up the bed more. That way your options would increase. True lasagna beds usually have far more layers mixed in and the dirt on top of them. It is the diversity of ingredients that make them work. But since the dirt is already laid down it will be difficult to add the other layers now unless you get more. Any place you can get star or hay? Bags of grass clippings? Know anyone who still has left over bags of fall leaves? If you can get at least 2-3 more thick layers down and then more soil on top of that you'd have a fairly good bed for a fall garden. Dave |
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- Posted by johns.coastal.patio USDA 10b, Sunset 24 (My Page) on Tue, May 27, 14 at 18:03
| You say "extend" so I know you already have things planted. What would you like to grow? A lot of things can grow on a hill, or a raised row, which you could do while leaving your lasagna in place. I agree with Dave that a salad garden could work too, 4 Hot-Weather Salad Greens to Plant This Weekend I might do a squash or watermelon hill. |
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- Posted by BlueBirdPeony 5b NE Ohio (My Page) on Tue, May 27, 14 at 20:54
| Excellent points. Here is my garden. 22 tomatoes (various varieties with early, middle and late production) 8 eggplant 8 peppers (poblano) 6 beets (this is what I wish I could do more of! My favorite!) 8 brussel sprouts 8 broccoli 2 peas (sugar snap) 1 bush bean My favorite veggies are beats, peas, asparagus, celery, cucumber. Re: other layers, we live in the country and can find just about anything. My primary objective was to smother the grass for future seasons. If we can't plant any veggies this year, we can always try next year. Thanks for your help! |
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- Posted by theforgottenone1013 5b/6a MI (My Page) on Tue, May 27, 14 at 21:07
| I have to disagree with Dave. The cardboard will start to decompose fairly quickly or at the very least it will soften and allow plant roots to penetrate it (depends on how many layers you used). Once the roots are through the cardboard they've got the unlimited depth of the native soil beneath it. You should be able to plant just about anything now except things that are out of season and root crops (root crops sprout and send a taproot down immediately; the cardboard won't be decomposed/softened enough when that happens). Last year I made a new garden bed by laying a single layer of cardboard down on an area of grass, covered it with about 6 inches of municipal compost, and planted corn. It grew okay. Could have been better but I didn't fertilize it. This year I did the same and planted artichokes and cardoons the same day I made the bed, which was about 2 and a half weeks ago. They are doing great. Rodney |
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- Posted by johns.coastal.patio USDA 10b, Sunset 24 (My Page) on Tue, May 27, 14 at 23:04
| I was wondering about that "race" between the softening cardboard and the descending roots. It might depend on soil moisture, and how many layers of cardboard you've got down there. Cucumber hills might have a good chance either way. ("expendable" bush beans are worth a shot too) |
This post was edited by johns.coastal.patio on Tue, May 27, 14 at 23:05
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- Posted by BlueBirdPeony 5b NE Ohio (My Page) on Wed, May 28, 14 at 19:48
| Hi all. Thanks again. Just one layer of cardboard. I did soak it thoroughly so perhaps that will help with the speedy decomposition. How do you suggest doing cucumbers? How big of a hill do they need and how much space between them? Artichokes sound amazing! Too late for them? |
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