The
lazy gardener
PAT FEATHERSTONE, who runs Soil for Life, writes how to create
a framework for your edible landscape, with lazy (wo)man's gardening
the order of the day from now on.
With
your food trees in place, you're well on your way to creating
a proverbial forest of food. Just imagine strolling through your
garden and picking your dinner; off the plant and straight into
the mouth. Now that's the way to do it. No dirty dishes. No hassles
with cooking when Eskom starts shedding. Supreme health, bursting
with energy from real live food, "cooked only by the sun", and
a Garden of Eden, constantly evolving with the seasons and your
changing needs.
But now some potentially daunting tasks present themselves. Your
garden is under lawn and you're faced with the prospect of removing
every single last vestige of this beastly stuff. Did you know
that the ever- popular Kikuyu grass can suddenly appear in the
most remote part of your garden from one tiny fragment buried
at one metre? Yes, it can be a most off-putting experience trying
to "kill" your once revered lawn. Well, here is a way to deal
with it, while at the same time creating fertile growing space
around the trees you have planted. It's lazy (wo)man's gardening
taken to the extreme. It is not necessary to dig. Instead you
can create a garden with surface layers of compost and mulches,
rather like making a mini-compost heap over a wide area. It may
take you time, but it isn't nearly as much physical effort as
digging up the grass runners, drying them out and carting them
off to the compost heap. The method about to be described is easy;
it takes a bit of a mental shift to get to grips with it. but,
believe me, it works! Sheet mulching (or composting) is the simplest
method of building the fertility of most soil types. It also demands
the least labour and does not need the back-breaking spade work
for setting up a new garden.
What's more, mulching encourages the living creatures of the soil.
Many of these creatures will work the soil over for you - so no
digging will be required.
It is a three-in-one method which combines composting, mulching
and the destruction of weeds and grass through the use of materials
that break down naturally (called biodegradable materials, such
as cardboard and newspaper).
After that, you will become used to adding more mulching materials
to the surface after the creatures in the soil have broken down
the mulch into life-sustaining humus. The whole idea behind mulching
is to disturb the soil as little as possible.
Here's how to go about it:
• Mark
out the areas for your new beds and, right on top of whatever
is there (bare soil, weeds, grass), sprinkle some rock phosphate
or bone meal and wood ash or dolomitic lime (for acid soils) or
sulphur (for those alkaline Cape Flats soils).
• Cover
the area with a layer of manure to provide the extra nitrogen
to break down the dead leaves and roots of the plants that will
be buried by the mulching materials.
• Then add alternating layers (six centimetres, or three
fingers, deep) of green, wet materials (lawn clippings, fresh
leaves and prunings) and brown, dry materials (untreated sawdust,
autumn leaves, straw) and more manure, watering each layer as
you go, until you have covered the demarcated area to a depth
of at least 20 centimetres. With vigorous kikuyu grass, it is
a good idea to mulch the area up to 30 or 40 cm deep. You'll be
surprised at how much organic matter it takes to do this.
• Cover the whole area with overlapping sheets of newspaper
(three to five sheets) or cardboard (one to three sheets) to prevent
weed seeds from germinating, and grass runners from creeping through
and competing with your plants. Wet the paper and cardboard thoroughly
and, in a very short space of time, it will have rotted down and
disappeared, its job done.
• Lastly, add a layer of compost, soil and mulch to hide
the unsightly newspaper and, hey presto, you're ready to plant.
Make a hole in the mulch/soil layer, cut a cross through the paper
or cardboard, add a dollop of good potting mix (half compost,
half good garden soil) and plant your seed or transplant your
seedling. Water well.
Golden rule for novice gardeners Let nature work for you.
Learn how to use natural processes to your advantage. Nature works
around the clock. Sheet mulching is a classic example of this.
Let go, let Mother Nature. o This article contains extracts from
the book Grow to Live: a simple guide to growing your own good,
clean food.
To
win one of three copies of Grow to Live, SMS SFL to 38020. SMSs
cost R10, which goes towards funding the Soil for Life Home Gardening
Programme in 2010.
To
all who must eat to live, there is hope. Grow your own food. It's
the simplest (and cheapest) way to good health. -
Soil
for Life is a Cape Town-based NGO that teaches people how to grow
their own good, safe food. For details about Soil for Life membership,
workshops and organic methods for growing vegetables, herbs and
fruit, phone Pat on (021) 794 4982. Have a look at the website
for more information: www.soilforlife.co.za
