Deep mulch garden rules!!! Primary and secondary

Goal is 8 to 12" of moist, decaying materials to plant into.

Primary Rules:
1--smother layer, the first year or following years, if you over more perennial weeds.
2--material must be 18 to 24" inches deep at install to have 8 to 12" inches of depth after wetting.
3--top 3 to 6 inches much be course and airy to not have weed seeds germinate.

Additional info:
Any dead plant material will work.  Any livestock manure will work.  Livestock manure is not required. 

The order of the materials between the smother layer and the top 3 to 6 inches of course mulch--have no specific rules.  (Look at my Compost handout and give some thought to Carbon and Nitrogen).

If you have weeds germinating--Pull then and get course mulch on top of where they are germinating.  (See Mulch Mulch Mulch handout for more info.)

Oat, elm and maple seeds will germinate in a course layer--they will germinate on the sidewalk, almost.  There will only be a couple flushes of them.  Pull those and any others that germinate.  Get a course layer of mulch on top of them and cut their light. 

That is the basics.  Follow this and you should have a 95% weed free garden.

Happy Gardening

Roger

March 22, 6:30p.m., Reedsburg--Deep Mulch/Lasagna Gardening talk

I will be presenting "Deep Mulch/Lasagna Gardening" at the Reedsburg Library, March 22 in the evening, 6:30. 

I am hoping for an interesting discussion after the slide show.  Many people in this area installed deep mulch gardens last growing season and I am hoping to hear reports and questions from their experiences.

Hope to see you there.

Roger

The power of harvested water and MULCH

This is worth the time to watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohI6vnWZmk&feature=player_embedded

Deep mulch garden install soon

With temps in the 70's--yes, the 70's for more than one day--the ground is thawed here in southern WI.  With the ground thawed, you can install a new Deep Mulch/Lasagna Garden.

I always caution people not to install a deep mulch garden on top of frozen ground.  The materials used in a deep mulch garden are basically cellulose insulation.  We don't want a garden on top of an ide cube.

I do wonder if the deeper soil heat would thaw the frozen ground, but since I have not tried this yet, I don't want anyone to have a bad experience.  Better safe than sorry.

If you ground is thawed--go ahead and start to get your deep mulch garden installed.

Happy Gardening,

Roger

March 22, Reedsburg--Deep Mulch/Lasagna Gardening talk

I will be presenting "Deep Mulch/Lasagna Gardening" at the Reedsburg Library, March 22 in the evening, 6:30 or 7, tbd. 

I am hoping for an interesting discussion after the slide show.  Many people in this area installed deep mulch gardens last growing season and I am hoping to hear reports and questions from their experiences.

Hope to see you there.

Roger

March 14, Olbrich Gardens, Madison, Fun With Fencing--Keeping Wildlife Out of the Garden

March 14, Olbrich Gardens, Madison,  6:30 p.m.

 I will be presenting "Fun With Fencing--Keeping Wildlife Out of the Garden" Wednesday evening at Olbrich Gardens

For more info and to register:

http://www.olbrich.org/education/classes.cfm#workshops

Formecology--great designs and work

John from FormEcology was one of the presentors at Monroe, today.  I always enjoy listening to John, he is full of sincere passion and does such beautiful work.  He is a master of sustainable designs with native plants and stone!!!

Check out his website pictures http://formecology.com/

March 10--Monroe, WI Lasagna Gardening talk

Hi All,

I will be in Monroe, WI this Saturday, March 10 presenting a talk on Lasagna Gardening.

http://green.uwex.edu/2012/01/09/gardening-inspirations-for-all-seasons-going-green-in-your-own-backyard/

Westby Driftless Folk School Classes

Hi All,

I will be teaching a number of classes here through the summer.  The first is May 5 and 6.

click on my name for a list of all the classes I will be teaching here.

http://driftlessfolkschool.org/courses/low-maintenance-sustainable-gardening

Hope to see you soon,

Roger

Thank you!! Thank you!!! to all who attended today's class

I had a great day teaching today.  I had a lot fun.  I am quite honored--there were people there from Chippawa Falls, Green Bay area, Milwaukee, Galena and DeKalb, plus many Madison area folks and some towns I did not know. 

A great group, great questions and great comments--good interaction.  I had a lot of fun and I hope attendees did also.

I am looking to do this presentation in other areas--so if you are looking for a fun interesting day of garden education--let me know.

Happy Garden planning,

Roger