Frilly bamboo edging and a 'no-dig' meadow planting day

Last week we created this, just before my little visa trip back to Melbourne. Its a bamboo edged, no-dig (sheet mulched) meadow garden, a start for us in creating Community Garden Lemon for CLCA.

First we split the bamboo, and cut to 20cm lengths, to pound into the soft soil.


I've never seen an edge like this, and hope it looks good a year from now. I needed something that would curve, they needed a way to use up the large bamboo that overran their other gardens. The curve is a walking path that will be filled in later with bamboo chips, or whatever lovely waste materials turn up when we need them.

Then we started making our 'no-dig' garden, also known as Lasagna, or sheet mulch garden, and crazily popular with Aussie Permaculture enthusiasts - a few hours, and your whole garden looks like someone else's came to visit.
We started with layers of newspaper directly on the existing grass, tucked nicely into the corners, so nothing will sprout back into the light, not this year, at least.



Over the newspaper went straw. In Australia I usually use the softer, more delicious alfalfa hay, but this is a rice district, not a cow district, and I'm thankful for whatever I get.


So over the rather hard rice straw we sprinkled rice husks - because they were there.


On top of the rice husks I was expecting to spread some good old manure. The ladies proudly presented a fancy little bag of pelleted manure from the shop. But they area resourceful bunch, and when they saw me looking puzzled, up they went to the mountains for some fuyoudo (leaf litter mulch). Its dark and beautiful, with threads of white fungi, and smells foresty and wonderful.


We realize we need more 'potting mix' to place around the new seedlings. Farmer Hota dashes out to one of his stomping grounds, and digs us up some treasure.


Under a big pile of branches he had left to decompose we found this rich crumbly mess,


sifted it like cappacino cocoa,
then used it to bless the garden - full of wonderful little creatures, it will really bring things to life.


Mrs Toda, one of the directors, is looking pretty lively


We decide part of the meadow will be japanese mountain herbs, the other side western.
The Japanese side got this red and green shiso again from Farmer Hota. Shiso's companions were nira (garlic chives) mitsuba, miyoga (like ginger), little ferns, and lots of pretty wildflowers I don't know much about, not yet.
The stepping stones for now are cardboard - we wanted to keep our big boots from compacting too much of the gardens fluffy new structure, so made a pretend path. It works just fine, and will some day just get tucked under everything to participate as more compost.


Joining its offcuts - here we soaked them to softness before hiding them under all our layers.


Just as we finished our planting, late for lunch, dirty and spent, the warm rains came down and did the final task - watering our garden, washing off ourselves.
Its a happy beginning, now we just wait and hope it succeeds.

Can you do this on a balcony? Why not! Ive never seen one, but somebody will one of these days. Just make the layers thick enough, make sure they are well watered and not sloshing over the edge, and don't forget to send me the photo



So now I tell you why its called a lasange garden - its of course about layers, but also getting the right balance of 'pasta' and 'meat sauce' - the carbon-rich straw, paper, rice hulls, and the nitrogen rich manure and whatever else you have.
And its going to be delicious.