Thank you for stopping by to check out my blog...The rain gave me some time to get all my photos together and update my blog. My most recent project was with Ed and Carmen from Simi valley, Ca.
First thing first. Instead of removing all the grass, I use a method called sheet mulching. Sheet mulching (same as lasagna gardening) covers the grass with layers of cardboard providing a dark moist environment to attract the earthworms to show up and begin to eat, make babies and leave castings. Activating the soil food web. This step is the most important step in my gardens I build.
Why is it so important? Important because we are balancing the ecosystem. Worm castings for example provide a balance of good and bad fungus and bacteria. When this happens the good bug comes and eat the bad bugs. Creating healthy soil for healthy plants, healthy water retention and healthy environment.
Once I finished sheet mulching the area. I begin laying out the gardens. As you can see here, the little grey/green grasses are called dimondia. A cover crop and likes to spread, very tough AKA cement grass and in the dandelion family. Flowers yellow.
When I build a garden, I use the same method but I kick it up a notch and call it sheet composting (lasagna gardening). I add additional layers of organic material such as, manure, leaves, grass, seaweed and contents from your composter. Most my clients compost or end up composting after I build there gardens. My clients go through a learning curve and they become much more confident gardeners.
We built a garden wall along the outside perimeter to give us the ability to have a long meandering garden along the front. I put layers of horse manure, alternating with mulch.
After last layer of mulch on top of manure. I added an organic planting mix for the dimondia to get established.
After 2 months from the sheet composting treatment you will have brand new living soil. Providing a heathy ecosystem and healthy water retention for your plants to thrive.
Worms live all over the planet. You build it they will come :)
We added a nice finishing touch. Brick, dimondia and a bench.
Hope you got garden inspiration from this post. If you want organic and drought tolerant gardens. Email me: planettarian@gmail.com
