Category Archives: Organic Gardening

Several years back, my mother-in-law (God bless her, sweet woman!) agreed to let me build a garden box in her back yard so we could do something fun together that we both enjoyed. We forged ahead, filled the boxes with compost and started planting. Our first gardening venture went great and we enjoyed a good harvest of plants and flowers.

Then…dum, dum, dum… I got pregnant. Everything I loved about gardening turned to dust…really…because I let most of it die. The smell of my favorite herbs – rosemary, basil, thyme etc. – made me want to turn and run the other way. Thankfully, the herbs grew – though unloved at the time. Though I’ve been gardening on a smaller scale since then, I was using most of my nurturing energy on babies.

Well, my break has lasted long enough. I’m ready to be back in the garden, breathing in the fresh clean air, feeling the dirt between my fingers and longing to eat something I’ve grown. Alas, our garden space looked a bit different…

In the past, we filled our gardens with compost – which can be expensive to buy and takes time to make yourself. This year, we decided to try “lasagna gardening” instead and it’s proven to be so much easier.

Here’s how it works. Instead of going through the process of buying or making compost, you just create layers of compost ingredients. These layers break down over time and create super rich garden soil. It’s the perfect lazy gardener’s garden! You don’t have to wait for the layers to disintegrate – you can plant immediately. And – no digging required. (Um, unless you let your previous garden go to seed. Whoops!) Just lay down some paper and start this process anywhere in your yard.

This is what we did. After digging the giant weeds out of the garden, we put down a layer of cardboard and some layers of newspaper & hosed them till wet.

Finally – the fun part! We planted seeds – chard, broccoli, carrots, kale, radish, spinach, chamomile, catnip, bachelor buttons etc. – and a whole bed dedicated to onions and leeks. (Onions are an obsession of mine!!) We threw a thin layer of straw over the top of the beds to help the soil retain moisture (spongy). The seeds need to stay moist for the next few weeks till they all germinate.

We have already seen a few tiny little plants coming up but I’ll post pics as they get bigger!

These are some other things you can use in a lasagna bed – pretty much anything you can compost goes in there.
Peat moss
Manure
Dried leaves
Fruit and veggie scraps (I like to chop these up or blend them so they break down faster)
Vegetation scraps from around the yard
Coffee grounds
Shredded newspaper

And – to answer the questions some of you are asking about what to plant…

These are the things that can be planted in Arizona right now.
Beets
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrots
Chard
Collard greens
Lettuce
Leeks
Kale
Endive
Garlic
Onions (YES!)
Parsnips
Peas
Radishes
Spinach
Turnips
Beets

Here’s a link to a great calendar by the U of A on gardening in the low desert.

Any of you planting a garden? What plants are you putting in? I love to get comments from you!

Some of you know I decided to grow a watermelon vine on my back patio this summer – right next to the mixed summer squash. Somehow I missed the memo that the vines would encompass my entire backyard (I have a townhouse!).

The summer squash vine grew over into our neighbor’s yard – who is a really great sport. We kept finding these on our back wall.

I also grew chard all summer (so yummy!) and easy stuff like mint. It was just so hot this summer I couldn’t bring myself to do much in the garden. Watermelon lessons: They need lots of room (either a 15’X15′ patch or a fence where you can train them and remember to support the fruit) and good fertilizer (like fish emulsion) every few weeks. Ripeness: watch for the yellow patch on the bottom and don’t wait for the little stem to turn brown (this advice was everywhere on the internet and in my books). This one never did – after months (!) – and it cracked in the last big storm, rendering it inedible. According to advice my farm girl mom gave me years ago, the huge yellow spot it had means it would have had great flavor and sugar content. Of course, I didn’t see it because I was waiting for the stem to turn brown. Oh well.

Now the weather is great and I’m off to help put in a garden this morning. This week, I’ll post pics of my large raised garden and the one I’ve been working on with my sister-in-law. Hopefully they’ll inspire you to grow your own!