Look Ma, no weeds!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am in complete disbelief.  I may go as far as to say that my brown thumb, for the first time EVER, may be turning green.

As I wrote in my last post, I am trying out a "lasagna garden" this year -- that is, using nothing but layers of cardboard, paper, grass clippings, kitchen scraps and a layer or two of manure as the planting medium.  I wasn't at all confident in this approach, but with the promise of no weeds, I had to give it a try.  If you recall, I simply started with the weed-bed I had left over from last year and put my first cardboard layer right on top!  No weeding, tilling, nothing.

So what happened?  WELL, I am happy to report that my garden is growing.  I have literally found and pulled THREE weeds (no doubt airborne invaders, as their roots were only in the top layer).  THREE.  In over a month.  I am a believer, and for the first time, I may be able to share some recipes with you in a little while using tomatoes and cucumbers from MY garden (that is, after all, what this blog is really about -- healthy cooking).  I am giddy with excitement!  Check it out!

The photos on the top were taken on May 8th.  The photos on the bottom were taken June 2nd.  Yippee!

I promise you more recipes and cooking tips shortly.  In the meantime, The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.  Enjoy!

Do I have a lasagna thumb?

OK, for the third year in a row, I’m going to try vegetable gardening. For the past two years, I’ve made it to the planting stage, and that’s as far as it went. I can blame the bad soil or the weather or my job or whatever, but the fact remains that I never once attempted to keep that garden weeded. In both instances, the weeds outgrew the crops at such an alarming rate that I just couldn’t (didn’t even try to) keep up.

This year will be different! (I know I say that every year.) But this one really will be! I may not have a green thumb, but I’m hoping this year I have a lasagna thumb.

Huh? I learned about “lasagna gardening” from a friend and thought I’d give it a shot. While you can certainly plant tomatoes, oregano, basil, onions, etc. (perfect for any Italian dinner!) in your garden, the term “lasagna gardening” refers to the method of layering materials – your “greens” and “browns” – in order to create a nutrient-rich foundation in which to plant.

I don’t profess to be an expert about this. I Googled it. These are the articles I used (overview and specific), but I’m sure there are hundreds of others that would be helpful!

I probably should have started this months ago to allow ample time for the layers to break down, but I’m hoping this will still work for planting a month or so from now. Courtney helped me with my first couple layers (cardboard/newspaper, then grass/weeds, then leaves and shredded paper). I put it directly over all the weeds and didn’t even have to work the soil! I then had to think quickly to keep the paper shreds from drying and blowing all over the yard (Keith would have LOVED that), so I covered the whole garden with a screen (some sites say to used plastic for the first few weeks). I’m saving veggie peels and coffee grounds now for the next layer.

I really hope this is as easy and foolproof as the articles make it seem. I’ll keep you posted!

Has anyone tried this? I’d love some tips and anecdotes!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Plenty of uses for your homegrown bounty!