Lasagna Gardening "After the Fact"

I wanted to see if I could use layered/lasagna techniques in an already-established garden. Last summer I had awful problems with sedge growing in our flower beds along the driveway.

Mother's day weekend I tried out the system...

1. Carefully rake away the mulch surrounding the plants.
2. Lay layers of newspapers down around the plants, leaving as little soil exposed as possible. (wetting the papers as you go makes it easier)
3. Put a layer of peat moss and compost down on top of the paper.
4. Layer leaves and/or grass clippings on top of this.
5. Reapply the mulch to the top.
Voila!

Due to my low leaf supply and an overly helpful toddler, I was only able to finish a third of the driveway bed... and it shows. Where I lasagnaed, no weeds. Where I didn't.... new sedge growth. I better finish the rest ASAP!

I plan on using this technique throughout the garden, especially in the front of the house. The soil there really needs some help.

May flowers... on my spinach!

May has been a mixed month here.... wet weeks followed by very dry, cool weeks followed by very warm. Normal Missouri weather!

The garden is growing... the 8 tomato transplants from inside have all survived so far and they were joined by two striped green cherry tomatoes that I picked up in Columbia, MO at a farmer's market.

None of the pepper transplants made it though. I've supplemented with four transplants from Soil Service.

The beans have finally germinated and are now starting to slowly trail up the supports. The corn is growing tall and we've had a great lettuce harvest. Beets were a bust and slugs have been chewing on my edemame and melon seedlings. Drat!

I've found a few slugs on the lettuce as well... prompting me to order some Escar-go!

We have two rain barrels now (the picture shows the first one in action). Combined with our fancy-schmancy kitty litter containers with pin-holes in the bottom, we have a pretty cheap and low-impact drip irrigation system in place.

The spinach and lettuce are really tasty. I think I'd like to devote more space to greens next year. I'd also like to plant more spring veggies like cabbage and broccoli. Next time!

I'll post recent pics soon... these are from early in the month.