This is what it looks like when you know what you're doing |
A restored Templars' monastery. Can I live there? |
We started off by putting in the stakes for the raised bed (made out of straight-ish, thick pieces of alder).
In the middle, we placed a layer of cardboard. Any small branches were chopped off and plopped in the middle of the bed as well. With time, they will form a tiny hugel bed (hugel who?? Hugelkultur is German for "mound culture", the art of burying a mix of wood and planting on top of the mound; this creates a self-watering, self-fertilizing planting bed).
Then we started placing the pieces of wattle along the border of the bed, weaving it around the stakes. Not a thing of beauty, for sure, but it should work, which is all we're after at this point. Maybe generation 2.0 will be a more aesthetically pleasing version.
Man, worms loved that manure pile. |
Once the bed is full, we placed the last layer of leaves and covered with some cardboard, so that the leaves don't blow away. And repeat. Since then, we have made another two beds, just off the side of the first two. Those were left empty and have been acting as our compost pile over the winter - we place bucketfuls of compost, cover with leaves, and walk away. In the spring, we'll be able to plant hungry vegetables, like squashes, straight into these compost beds. The more gently creatures, like tomatoes, can go into the manure-leaves beds and be happy. Cost - $free.99 for all components, help from friends - priceless, product - hopefully a happy garden :-) Thanks for everyone who has helped out!
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