It feels strange to have pumpkins in July, but we probably won't eat them for quite a while. These were "volunteers" from our compost pile, from a jack-o-lantern Meg threw away in October! One of the garden plots is almost exclusively from these compost volunteers, including butternut squash and many of our tomato plants. We planted that garden with a technique called "Lasagna Gardening." The best thing about this method is that you get to skip the initial weeding and ground prep process, and you create a raised bed.
A quick How- To:
Pick your plot, and create a border, if it doesn't naturally have one.
Cover the whole surface with cardboard, paper bags or a thick layer of newspaper.
Drench it in water to make it stick to the ground, and fill in any gaps with more paper.
Lay down a layer of undigested compost (yes, just kitchen scraps!)
Cover with a thick layer of good soil-- compost, manure or purchased garden soil.
You can then just leave it and see which volunteers show up, or go ahead and plant your own.
Super easy, and you will hardly have to weed at all, since the paper layer kills the weeds!
3 comments:
What a great method, and wonderful looking veggies! that pumpkin looks really official! :-)
Sounds like a great plan! Maybe I'll try it someday in our garden. Yes, that pumpkin looks really good... And the tomoatoes look scrumptious!
That sounds like my kind of gardening. I've never had much of a green thumb, and I like the element of surprise that is involved.
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