Layers

Today was packed.

I picked up the plants I ordered from the Kennebec Water and Soil Conservation district. I had ordered raspberry and blackberry canes, peonies and some agri-gel. Sadly, the blackberries didn't come in so I got a credit and used it towards a new compost bucket. I washed ours in the dishwasher and it warped. When we got back from Canada I discovered that we had ants, and I suspect they've been accessing the compost from the small hole on the top where the lid does not line up anymore with the top of the bucket. Then I stopped by Agway for some peat and manure. I also bought some tennis balls for Mojo. He loved chasing the balls around the yard. Merlin is not much for toys but Mojo revels in them. I have to teach him to bring the ball to me, though. He eventually drops them and runs off. Today was the day that I was going to put together the lasagna garden. Some benefits to gardening this way include not breaking the soil and better weed control.

I photocopied a diagram of what the layers should be comprised of from the book Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza, although the author of the book says to use whatever materials we have available. We layered wet newspaper and shredded paper, then repeated layers of peat, compost, leaf matter and manure. Once done, we covered it with a tarp to "cook" it. It should be rich and lovely and ready for my plants in a few weeks. I'm putting Datura, Sweet Annie, Calendula and Zinnia in it. I'm not a huge fan of annuals, since they don't keep giving like the perennials, but they do provide nice color and give cheer instantly.







We topped our afternoon off with a bike ride along the rail trail. I didn't use the bike too much last year, so I was a little rusty. The thing has tons of gears and I'm not the most observant when it comes to traffic, gravel and shifting, but luckily there is very little actual road riding going on. The trail is beautiful. I hope to bike to work once the weather becomes a bit more stable. We did about 13 miles, and it felt fantastic! I'm damn tired now. I'll sleep well.