Lasagna under my nails

by Kris Neri, with the Femmes Fatales

When it comes to gardening, I’m one of those people who loves the outcome, but not the process. Flowers, not dirty fingers. Sadly, it usually requires some of the latter if you want the former.

Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve always maintained I had lousy dirt. Not that I had any expertise in the dirt arena, but I complained about it nonetheless. I believed it was either too sandy or clayish. 

Now I know that whether my soil was either too dry or too moist, it was always good dirt. How do I know? Because it grew whatever I put into it. That’s how you know. When dirt works, it’s good.

Also, now I can compare the quality of my prior yards’ soils with my present yard’s dirt. This time I truly have terrible dirt. I have validated that because it kills everything I try to grow. Other than weeds—my dirt turns out weeds in staggering numbers. Also yuccas. I like some other yuccas, such as Red Yuccas, but I’m not too keen on the the Soaptree Yucca—the New Mexico state flower—which proliferates to a ridiculous extent in my yard. That’s why I obsessively dig up their sprouts. But as to the other plants I purchase, or seeds I try to grow—guaranteed deado.

If it only happened occasionally, I’d blame it on the plants I’d chosen. When you go to the nursery or garden center for plants, it’s always a crapshoot. You try to pick the bushiest one, the plant with the best blooms, etc. But, strangely, those aspects aren’t the strongest indicators of plants that will flourish. See how crazy-making gardening is? If those things aren’t the best indicators, I can’t figure out what would be.

Take the herbs I buy every spring. It’s as if the two basil plants I put into a pot of
potting mix were cheering, “Now we can really grow!” Seriously. If I could speak Plant, I would have heard them. I watched them sprout up. That’s how well they’ve thrived. By contrast, my oregano and parsley remain alive in their pots, but stubbornly refuse to grow. 

How can you know when you pick them whether they’re destined to be plant zombies? The herbal undead?

But back to my dirt…when absolutely everything you stick in the ground becomes part of
the thoroughly dead, you have bad soil.

I thought I was condemned to a life of having to pretend to love yuccas and weeds, until someone suggested I replenish my soil.

You can replenish soil? Who knew? Well, probably everyone who knows anything about gardening. The method a friend suggested is called the lasagna method.

Perfect for me. I love lasagna, the food. The dirt version had to be just as wonderful. Turns out, though, apart from having layers, they’re nothing alike.

Lasagna, garden-style, involves putting down layers of newspapers or cardboard, straw, dried leaves, compost, grass clippings, manure, and other substances.
One article I read described it as a lazy form of soil reclamation.

Also perfect for me, since I’m lazy when it comes to gardening, or I’d know more. However, spreading those layers actually takes more effort than "lazy" should. 

Anyway, I’m now well into my dirt-replenishing program. Will it work? I
tell my potbound plants to hang on because I’ll soon have a nice, refreshing place to stick them in the ground. But really, who can say?
For now, it’s full speed ahead with lasagna gardening with the hope of planting in the spring. I might not be much of a gardener, but I do love a project. For now, I’ll keep a little lasagna under my fingernails. 

Gardeners? Have you ever restored your soil? What did you do?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopscotch Life -- Free with Kindle Unlimited: Click here

Comments

[Jane DiLucchio]

We're currently trying to deter weeds by putting brown paper sacks on top of the soil with stones covering them. Not trying to amend the soil, just trying to stop those abundant weeds. (Did you send some over from your house?) Good luck with the lasagna!

[krisneri]

Hah! I didn't send any to your house, Jane, but if I thought it would work, I'd send them somewhere. What a novel way to get rid of weeds. I'll have to try that. I often pour vinegar on mine, but I wouldn't try that too close to plants you want to flourish.

[Susan Neace]

We removed a non functioning lamppost In our recently purchased house on a rise in the ground outside our living room window. The soil was rock hard clay and concrete remnants after the base of the lamppost was removed. My husband tilled it but decided to build 3 tiers of raised beds in the space. We hauled in 3 loads of compost to fill the beds. The results for the plants I added have been spectacular

[krisneri]

Susan, you give me such hope! That sounds spectacular.