Recently when filming with Permaculture gardener Rosina Buckman, we asked her how she managed to grow her amazing vegetables in her raised bed gardens without importing a lot of expensive soil. These tanks were raised off the ground and faced a sunny spot right out at the front of her house. Rosina responded that we need to look and think about our garden beds the same way we approach a compost heap.
“All you have to do is think of it as a great big compost bin.” she said.
Rosina cleverly asks her neighbors to donate their pruning and discarded vegetable matter. Most people are only too happy to oblige to get rid of their stuff for free. Rosina first lays out the bulky stuff, palm fronds, tree branches and woody material as the base of her raised garden.
This bulky stuff will take the longest time to break down so it all sits at the bottom of the bed. Rougher mulch, leaves, wood-chips, cardboard packaging and carbon based material then forms another layer on top and like a thick lasagne the varying layers go to build the raised garden bed. In fact very little organic matter leaves her home in the rubbish bin.
“Why throw it away when you can use it to grow your own food?” she said.
When building your raised garden tank bed, its also important to add something green or even a manure of some sort as this will act as the “fire” or nitrogen material to activate the pile. Because the neighbors all have large front lawns, getting their green lawn clippings is an easy way to build up your tank garden bed.
Read Full Article Here:
http://www.ecofilms.com.au/2011/06/13/building-a-raised-bed-garden/
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