Green Daily

It was never really a question that the garden my neighbors and I created and will maintain together would be in my back yard. I have a fence and a perfect spacious sunny site on the far end of our quarter-acre property out of the way of kids and dogs.

Only trouble is, it's covered with grass. I've already dug a fair amount of sod up from my yard in favor of planting beds of shrubs and flowers. Just the thought of doing more made my back hurt. Apparently, lasagna style gardening could be our salvation. I had heard of lasagna gardening from a friend and a family member. But I didn't know any details about what it is or how it's done. A quick surfing session on the Net gave me all I needed to know and more.

Basically, the technique involves layering newspaper, peat moss and compost or other organic material on top of grass deep enough to plant seedlings. As the layers break down, an ecosystem of perfectly rich soil and earthworms emerges. We thought it was worth a try. Well, actually, it was the only way this gardening project was going to happen without digging up a whole lot of grass. On second thought, it was the only way this gardening project was going to happen. Period.

Tomorrow: read about sowing seeds.