Fibermania

Dave and I watch Volunteer Gardener on our local public television station every Sunday. (Tennessee is the Volunteer state, which is why this name is attached.) Two weeks ago or so we saw a segment featuring Patricia Lanza doing her Lasagna Gardening demo and we just loved it.

The idea is to lay down wet newspapers on the new garden spot. Right over the grass or weeds or whatever. Then layer grass clippings, peat moss, compost, shredded leaves, pine straw, or just about anything organic, and plant something in it. Usually it is a started plant, not seeds, but in a few years I am sure seeds would work too.

I loved this idea, being already sick and tired of digging into the rocks and clay here in my yard.
I have only one problem. No newspapers. Hmm.
So I called my one neighbor, but she tosses hers out as soon as she is done reading them, so I couldn't scrounge any from her. And as for the grass clippings, if I lived in suburbia I could probably just drive along the street any weekend and pick them up in bags off the curb, but I don't live anywhere near where people do this.

We do have plenty of leaves, and an already started compost pile, plus twenty 40lb. bags of composted manure, which I am sure will speed up the process to almost instant garden bed.

So switching directly to the solution: yesterday I had to go to the post office and mail an overnight parcel and wouldn't you know it, the P.O. was closed. Darn. But on the counter inside was a stack of freebie newspapers. I grabbed them right up. Hurray! I am ready.

And while we were out getting our landscape timbers I found the necessary summer version of garden shoes. They are dotted with ladybugs. Cute!

PS.In the comments yesterday I was asked why I don't like my formica countertops. They hide both the dirt and the clean. I like to see when my counters are sparkling clean, and I just can tell with these.