New Revolutionary (??) Gardens…

Have you made your bed yet?

I usually reserve this question for my children in the mornings but today I’m asking you..

work in progress

Because now is a really good time to make any new garden beds, particularly if you’re making lasagna/sheet gardens.

If you do make a bed using the layering technique , you want them to sit a bit to get sorted and mushy- the more raw your ingredients the more so.  And if you make them now they may just well be perfect for your Spring/Summer planting.  You may even have time to throw in a green manure crop to make it extra spesh.

Because I like to make my gardens out of what I’ve got or what I can find for free I’m a great fan of the lasagna method.

I’m in the midst of an experiment at the moment which could go fantastically, revolutionar-ly well or terribly wrong and be the bane of my life….interested?
In forming my garden I’ve had to take out a whopping lot of wandering jew/dew/willy (Tradescantia fluminensis), a pretty tenacious weed that will re-flourish at the drop of a broken stem.  Chickens love it but there’s only so much they can consume, my ladies anyway..

My ladies working hard..

I’ve also had to pull out, cut/hack and prune down shrubs, semi trees and bushes (found a mandarin tree in the process and about 9 bottles of empty Ormonds Port!).

The old farmers wife found her escapism in the garden with a bottle… I wonder I wonder…

With all this debris I’ve created what I’m calling pods (I don’t know why, they don’t resemble pods!).. Circles of prunings with Tradescantia piled on top, jumped on for good measure (the leaves bruise easy and well frankly it was fun!) a bit of soiled guinea pig hutch hay and black plastic that I found at the back of the property (rural rubbish disposal is something that needs to be addressed) layed on top..

It’s a pile of Tradescantia

So if this works, this little experiment of mine, it might be groundbreaking and change how we look at this “weed”.

OR, I’m completely mis-guided (of my own guidance) and all I’m doing is growing pods of wandering jew on our lawn!

P.S.  I’ve checked all my books and there’s no medicinal/cosmetic/culinary use for Tradescantia fluminensis.  Anyone is welcome to prove me wrong!!