Turning Sod Into Garden Soil

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

That is the start. Now you need to fill in the rest of the area with other mulch. When I use leaves, I usually cover them with a light amount of grass clippings or hay to keep them from blowing. If things grow up through the mulch, add more.

Plastic or newspapers can also be used. I prefer natural materials, because they add fertility to the soil as they break down into rich humus. Plastic will degrade in the sun; you will have to remove it eventually. Newspapers break down and don't have to be removed. Their only drawback is that they lack nutrients and the ink is left in your soil. This potential garden toxin has been the subject of much controversy over the past 10 years or so. I never considered ink a problem, but some people did, and as a commendable consequence of their efforts, most newspapers are now printed using soy—no thanks to me.

Mulch is wonderful for adding nutrients, increasing humus, suppressing weeds, retaining moisture, and making a garden almost self-sufficient. However, it is no better than any other potential panacea you ever came across. It also harbors slugs, brings in weed seeds, and is loved by witch grass. Through years of research in my garden (some would term it trial and error) and in books, I have come to love mulch. It creates comparatively few problems and is an important part of being a lazy gardener.

Converting sod to soil is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience, even when you live in the same place. This year Barbara noticed that the garden had migrated. It has been moving away from the house and she wanted it to come back. Each year, I guess, I let the grass of the lawn encroach a little and then till to the new line. This year we brought the garden six feet back toward the house. That newly turned soil was just as lumpy as the first garden's. We planted potatoes and mulched them heavily and now the garden is back where it belongs. It was a lot easier to plant the potatoes and mulch than to rake and fuss over that area.

Mark Twain said, "Experience is the best way to find out about something. Fellow who takes ahold of a bull by the tail once is getting 60 or 70 times as much information as the fellow who hasn't. Anybody who sets in to carry a cat home by the tail is gaining knowledge that's always going to be useful .... Chances are he won't carry a cat that way again. But if he wants to carry the cat that way, I say let him. It isn't always easy to be eccentric."

So put your coat on and get started.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print