Lasagna Bed

2011 Garden Layout in Review

2012/02/19
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Chart of the different beds for 2011-http://gardenhacker.com

Now that we’re in February and the catalogs are coming in at least once every couple of weeks, I am getting back to this site, and planning the new garden.  First, though, a review of last year’s garden layout and what worked in a wet and weird season: As you can see, the lasagna bed and the hugelkultur bed were pretty close!  The advantage of the hugelkultur bed is that it is not supposed to need any additional materials this year, and should start offering up the nutrients from the buried logs from last year for the next three to five years.  Good thing, as this was quite labor intensive!  The lasagna bed will need an additional 1″ of composted manure, and a covering of compost.  The wicking bed sprang a leak and will have to be redone this year, and the box bed will need new boxes or be converted to lasagna beds to be viable again. Also...

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Day 116 Bush Beans and Snow Peas Experiments End

2011/08/25
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It’s been a great summer for gardening, and I wish I had kept up on the 30 minutes/day challenge, but we still have been eating well from the garden and will continue to do so.  The bush beans (providor) and the snow peas (oregon giant) have had their day, at least for the plantings in the individual garden beds and have been cut down.  The bush beans in what will be the strawberry pyramid are going strong, though – giving an additional 1.2 lbs (0.544 kg) of beans all at once from the eighteen plants.  A second harvest, and possibly a third should be in the future, as there are no pests and few weeds.  It was easy pickings, too! Walked around the bed and picked, stooping only slightly for the lower tier.  May experiment with more pyramids next year. Bush Beans totals are: Lasagna bed produced 31.25 oz (), followed by the Box Bed at 13.88 oz (),...

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Day 107 – Spills and a Squashed Patty Pan Plant

2011/08/16
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Day 107 – Spills and a Squashed Patty Pan Plant

Managed to trip and land on one of my squash plants in the Hugelkultur bed, attempting to get at some of the tomatoes that have been almost completely covered by the amazingly large leaves of the patty pan.  Also bent the daylights out of the tomato cage (why just destroy one thing?).   We’re practically swimming in patty pan squash, which have been going to neighbors, friends, new teachers… kind of reminds you of zucchini dilemmas? I’ve got three taste tested recipes that are great for patty pan squash, as well as any other summer squash: Stuffed Patty Pan Squash       Patty Pan Squash and Couscous     Sauteed Patty Pan Squash with Fresh Basil and Goat Cheese     Beyond that, the Hugelkultur bed is now producing cucumbers, the box bed is forming it’s first patty pan squash, the wicking bed is now beginning to produce beans. One day this week (probably tomorrow, as it will...

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Day 99 – Numbers skewed but the trends continue to favor the Lasagna garden bed

2011/08/08
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Day 99 – Numbers skewed but the trends continue to favor the Lasagna garden bed

Took a week away last week, and it seems technology took a holiday as well in many forms.  First I lost (then later found) my flash drive. Then my MP3 player decided it had enough (Sansa Clip that was working great – even after being run over several months ago, just couldn’t take the rain with it’s cracked case, having fallen from my pocket while relaxing in an Adirondack chair). If that wasn’t bad enough, I had a neighbor set up to track the progress of the beds, only to have the scale (analog scale – no batteries or electronics!) go haywire!  They did their best, and I’ve just picked up where I left off recording what I have picked.  As you can see for 2011-08-08, the lasagna garden bed continues to do great, with the hugelkultur bed starting to perk up quite a bit, the pattypan squash really spiking the numbers.  Got our first broccoli as well, and...

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Day 88 – Patty Pan Push Lasagna Bed Further Ahead

2011/07/28
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Day 88 – Patty Pan Push Lasagna Bed Further Ahead

A couple of more pattypan squash have pushed the lasagna bed even further ahead, at almost 2.5 pounds (1.13kg) total yield from this gardening technique.  I remember over fourty years ago getting ready for “the coming of the metric system”.  Now, thankfully – we’re seeing it replacing the imperial system with popular foods measured in whole metric amounts (2 litres of beverage, 1 litre of cooking oil, etc.), glad I had those lessons, wish I remembered them – but I digress. Patty pan squash, aka pattypan, cibleme, scallopini, button squash,  and others (see wikipedia for details), is similar in texture and flavor to zucchini squash.  They are often picked when they are no more than three inches in diameter (76mm).  At this stage, the seeds are immature enough tthat they are similar in texture to the rest of the squash and are cooked and eaten with no difficulty. When grown beyond three inches, the seeds become tougher, the insides start to become...

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Day 85 – Lasagna Bed Takes the Lead

2011/07/25
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Day 85 – Lasagna Bed Takes the Lead

After a weekend away, the lasagna bed pulled ahead in the race for the most produce, with the hugelkultur bed surpassing the box bed by a little less than an ounce.  Bringing up the rear is the leaky wicking bed.  Putting the soaker hose on trickle for the wicking bed hoping that it will begin to produce in earnest and at least come in line with the lasagna bed and the other beds. There is evidence of the rabbit I’d seen tasting our green beans, nibbling 1/2 a bean and leaving the rest. The potato plants are starting to turn, meaning that in a couple of weeks it will be time to harvest – they have already cut them back in Deerfield, MA* which is usually two weeks ahead of Goshen, MA. The carrots have begun to emerge in the insulated container garden, and I will have to hook up either some shade cloth or something shiny to scare away...

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Day 80 – When a Wicking Bed Goes Bad

2011/07/20
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It appears there is a leak in the plastic under the wicking bed.  Within hours of filling it (twice), the reservoir is empty.  The potatoes at the end appear to be missing the water, too – they are turning yellow and wilting.  Fortunately, I have some extra soaker hoses that I just placed there, and much of the “extra” water will be absorbed by the now rotting wood chips that were the medium above the plastic that was there to “break up the surface tension and help facilitate wicking”. The box beds are starting to catch up to the lasagna beds as far as yield is concerned, with the wicking bed taking a break to flower like mad and the hugelkultur bed following suit, though there was the one patty pan squash that was ready for a salad, and thus picked. I am hearing the water pump working away in the cellar, and it’s been an hour of soaker...

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Day 78 – Patty Pan Squash are Starting to Emerge!

2011/07/18
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Patty Pan Squash with Flowers

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Day 76 – Beans and Peas and a New Garden Experiment

2011/07/16
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Day 76 – Beans and Peas and a New Garden Experiment

The new garden experiment is: Miracle-Gro Garden Mix vs 1 part soil, 1 part Manure. Facing south, the left box is the Miracle-Gro, the right is the soil-manure mix. In the manure pile, there was some well aged manure (no smell, as opposed to the fresher, smellier variety that I’d dug, then dumped and left there) which I screened – one shovel full manure, then one shovel full soil, mixed well, and put into the test bed/box. Ran out of seeds before I finished planting the soil/manure box, so sprouting will be a little sparse there. I find it is extremely easy to make a new garden experiment using boxes to separate the different soils.  As these experiments are of the “home grown variety”, I have not separated the boxes with a barrier of soil between them as would be proper in scientific experiments. Once the frost has taken hold later (the later the better!) this year, I will...

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Day 71 – Potatoes

2011/07/11
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Four beds of potatoes with little difference between them. - gardenhacker.com

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Day 71 – Broccoli

2011/07/11
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Broccoli in the four different types of beds. Gardenhacker.com

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Day 71 – Tomato Comparisons

2011/07/11
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Tomatoes from the four different beds.

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Day 71 Bed Comparisons Snow Peas and Beans (plus a cuke or two)

2011/07/11
By
Collage of Beans and Peas in the different beds. Gardenhacker.com

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Day 71 Continued: Squash in the Different Beds

2011/07/11
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Day 71 Continued: Squash in the Different Beds

Patty pan squash are a delicious summer squash that resemble a cross between an acorn and a UFO. They are delicious, reminding one of zucchini, though slightly firmer. Often times they are picked when only four to eight ounces (2-4″ in diameter), but the insides are edible up to over one pound, where the skins get tough, and the seeds begin to form in earnest. As shown in the pictures, patty pan squash really enjoy composted manure and rich soil. Pattypan variety is a bush type, making it an excellent choice for smaller gardens. Lettuce is often planted as a companion and the broad leaves shade the hot mid-summer sun so the lettuce won’t bolt as easily. Here, the lasagna bed and the wicking bed are tied for first, with the hugelkultur bed taking third, and bringing up the back end is the banana box beds.

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Day 40 – Garden Wildlife and Carrots and when Cucumbers Go Bad

2011/06/11
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Day 40 – Garden Wildlife and Carrots and when Cucumbers Go Bad

More rain, more slugs, more salamanders!  We have these orange salamanders that show up in the tall grass and in the marshy areas, and sometimes on the road (I pick them up with wet hands and transport them across if I find them).  The kids love them.  They’re extremely gentle with them and let them go where it’s damp and there are no cars going by.  The slugs – they’re another story.  Ducks are an option I can’t work with, since the garden is not fenced in, and the dog would be wanting to do the “fetch and shake” that he was wired to do.  Sluggo is an option I’ve used before, but I am trying the old tried and true methods of scoop and drown when they’re in the garden, as well as an interesting one (since I had a cucumber that was going bad):  cucumber slices on an aluminum pie plate is supposed to drive them away...

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Day 35 – Experiments in Composting

2011/06/06
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Seems the 30 min/day is going to be more of an “average” than a set in stone scheduled time for me.  With young children’s schedules for acro, ballet, etc., along with work, trips to the “transfer station” (where we bring our garbage/recyclables), freak tornados, etc., we just have to be flexible. Started experimenting with a no manure compost pile.  Only food scraps, grass clippings, weeds and wood chips from the local highway department (they chip trees that are in the way of power lines and dump them in an easily accessible pile near our transfer station).  It is starting to heat up, but I believe I need more water.  One of the nice things about the wood chips is that they were already starting to decompose – had a lot of white “spiderwebby” fungal growth inside. Weeded for about five minutes, watered for ten, transplanted a couple of patty pan seedlings that were doing well (for a great recipe...

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Day 33 – Williamsburg Farmer’s Market

2011/06/02
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Day 33 – Williamsburg Farmer’s Market

I’d dropped by the Williamsburg Farmer’s Market last week and seen several people who had nice healthy plants for sale. Hoping to get a head start, or at least move things along, I went down there again this Thursday. The gentleman I’d spoken with was no longer there, but a couple of others were offering some beautiful cucumber plants as well as several varieties of tomatoes. Ah, I couldn’t resist the tomatoes, and I got some good information as to why my cukes didn’t sprout: seems cucumbers like warm moist soil, not cold rain drenched to the point of floating away soil, which we had when I planted them. Gotta love farmers markets! There was bread, fresh veggies, free range turkey and more right on the Meekins library lawn. The Williamsburg Farmer’s Market is on every Thursday throughout the summer, so if you travel Route 9, it’s worth stopping by and seeing the sculptures and the market too. So,...

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Day 31 Some Growing, Some Groaning

2011/05/31
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Day 31 Some Growing, Some Groaning

Most of the beds are showing signs of life. I overplanted in a couple of areas, other areas not much is showing up. Broccoli is overplanted in the lasagna bed, 25% germination in the wicking bed – about 50% germination in the hugelkultur bed. The banana box beds are doing just fine, too, at about 80% germination.  Just planted the squash and the peppers in the banana box bed. Beyond that, spent a total of one hour (making up for yesterday), including weeding around the edges. Found a few “volunteer” potatoes from last year and divided them up between all the beds except the banana boxes, where I have no room. Still trying to figure out the best way to plant the carrots – the seeds are so tiny, and having typically 30 minutes/day to devote to the gardening as well as the different type of beds (from boxes to mounds) I don’t think there’s any one way to...

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Day 26 – Review

2011/05/26
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Day 26 – Review

Here’s where we’re at so far: the bright green beds are planted, the olive beds are waiting for the Gardenhacker to make more time and get out and plant! Peppers and squash will probably go out next, while I think about how to keep the fur bearin’ so-and-so’s from my carrots this year.  My successful beds were within an enclosed area, where rabbits couldn’t get in and dine. Now that they’re out in the open, (the last couple of years), they’ve been eaten by something…  stay tuned to find out what I decide – probably going to be several different deterrents, just like the several different beds we’re experimenting with this year. I’m testing out Feedshark, so that’s what the link below is. Hypersmash

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Dense Planting in the Lasagna Bed

2011/05/20
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Dense Planting in the Lasagna Bed

Gardener's Supply Company