Groundbreaking
By June after signing the agreement we order a truck load of soil, mulch and cardboard to start the garden
This is the first day that we started work.
The land was covered in weeds and we had to start by cutting down most of it and pruning most trees to make space.
We also got a truck load of soil, a truck load of mulch, and a truck load of cardboard.
Soil samples were sent to be tested. This always the first thing to do when thinking of starting an edible garden. You must know your soils, they are the base and it cannot be overemphasized how important this is. The soil had no lead or other harmful chemicals,but it was very hard, mostly clay and with no organic matter so we decided to build our planting beds with the soil we bought on top of the existing soil.
Sheet mulching
Sheetmulching is an organic way of eradicating weeds and grass.
The cardboard we used was recycled cardboard that we bought from a cardboard collector. It was soaked overnight to speed its decomposition into the ground. The cardboard was laid on the ground and then it was covered with soil and/ or mulch. The weeds and grasses underneath don't get sun light and most of them suffocate and die. The cardboard eventually decomposes and becomes part of the soil and provides a habitat for worms and other critters.
This proved to be very true, because raccoons found the worms under the cardboard and would come attack the garden at night ripping up the cardboard to eat the worms.
We laid out the site and removed some of the clay top soil of the planting bed areas before setting the cardboard down.
It was an exhausting day but at the end of the day we had three planting beds planted with tomatoes, basil and lettuce.
The shade of the tree was a welcome spot.
The first set of beds are ready.
Tired and happy at the end of the day.
