I think I’m done making my sheet mulched garden beds. I say “I think” because I may want to make up a couple additional beds in the near future, but I have everything complete that was priority.
I used the sheet mulching method of creating these garden beds. That means I did not dig into the soil. Instead, I knocked back any growth that was coming up through the soil. Next, I laid down large sheets of cardboard. Then I piled on an inch or two of composted manure. Finally, I added a heavy layer of straw.
I made a giant suntrap-style keyhole garden bed on the back half of my warren. The beds form a “U” shape and faces the direction of the sun (south). Keyhole beds are a space-saving technique, and they’re more visually appealing than straight garden beds. I think my design looks like the underside of a leaf with the veins being the walking space.
There are two apple trees to the north of this U, and two peach rootstocks to the west. Eventually I’ll get another couple of trees planted to the west, and fill in the space between trees with shrubs like hazelnuts and raspberries. The U will eventually be planted with perennial vegetables.
The front garden beds (pictured below) will be planted with annual vegetables. I hope to fill these beds with seedlings that folks give away. There are usually plenty of extras to go around. I can’t say for sure what will end up in these beds, but so far I have some onions, walking onions, early cabbage, and broccoli, all of which I got for free.
I do my potatoes this way, and with the help of plastic tubes cut from old, larger diameter, plastic bottles, I can get to a small circle of the soil beneath the blankets of mulch, and plant squash, then remove tubes as plants show up. Watering can be done through tubes for tomatoes, they grow best with tubes left in. The straw and compost I end up with in the fall can be tilled into the ground, or turned with a pitch-fork and re-covered for the next year if not completely composted. Works well, much less effort than tilling every year, thanks for the article.