I needed dirt to fill up my newly constructed raised garden beds. Two are in their semi-permanent locations (I say semi-permanent because if we ever move, they are coming with me), one is awaiting my not-quite-finished-thought-out gardening plan. It would be so much easier to just buy dirt. Take the wheelbarrow down half a block and buy it from the company in my neighborhood that sells dirt. But, as usual, resources are abundant and money is not. There are so many positive aspects associated with making your own dirt anyways, especially when you're raising the next generation of people who will NOT be placing pumpkins in their garbage bins.
It took me several weeks to gather the things I needed. My plan was to do what is often called 'Lasagna Gardening', creating a garden plot with layers of compostable materials. I think it worked, or is working. Most of what I needed was a little motivation as well as the time to plan out all the layers of materials I could get my hands on to use for my dirt making recipe. One day the planets aligned, all my materials were either in my house or surrounding my house, the kids were in good spirits, the rain let up, and my motivation arrived, along with spurts of new ideas and inspiration. The kids helped me with very little complaint and few breakdowns. Kids like to play more than they like to work, so I didn't get it all done in one day, but we got a really good start on it, then finished up little by little over the following couple of days
*Cardboard - get it wet and lay it down on the very bottom of the garden bed. It acts as a weed barrier. Kids and I did this part awhile ago when I had enough cardboard gathered and saved up. The beds sat for several weeks before I did any more layers.
*Dried Leaves - obviously an abundant material in our parts this time of year. My sister had bagged up several bags of leaves from my moms house and gave them to me (I don't have leafy trees in my yard).
*Straw and barley hay - I had planned on just using straw, which we keep around to use as bedding for the chicken coop. Mary had discovered bales of barley in the field behind my moms house and gathered some for me.
*Dirt - okay, I did need a little bit of dirt to add volume as well as 'green' or wet layers. I actually pondered this for some time before I finally realized how to get it. I just dug a hole. Duh! Why keep dirt in one part of my yard when I need dirt in another. So, I have an uneven area of my yard where I dug out some really dark lovely dirt. I'm actually using the hole as a desperate new area for kitchen waste compost since I haven't completely used up the compost from the bin. The chickens keep digging into it my Earth hole, but I'm hoping the hole will eventually get smaller and smaller as my kitchen waste turns into dirt.
*Grass clippings/twigs/pine cones/pine needles/moss/wild mushrooms - I used the push mower to cut a little grass from the front yard to use, then raked the back yard up. The back yard ground is covered in a blanket of random small 'nature' ingredients that I felt would add a nice layer to my garden bed.
*Chicken Poop - another benefit to having chickens, I get their poop! Usually, adding chicken poop to a garden bed wouldn't be a great idea, but since I don't plan on planting anything until Spring, the poop will have enough time to decompose and loose its heat, yet add valuable nutrients
*Shredded paper - I spent and entire evening going through an old filing cabinet and pulling documents out that I really did not need to keep any longer. I ran then all through the shredder and ended up with several bags full of shredded paper. Plus, I freed up some space to organize other documents and junk to put away for a few more years.
*Egg shells - These chickens really just keep on giving! I started saving egg shells when I read that they can be cleaned, dried and pulverized into powder. Calcium is what it is! I soon found myself at war with myself trying to decide who and what was more deserving of this new amazing stuff! First, I felt it was only fair to give it back to the chickens. After all, they need the calcium most since they are laying the eggs to begin with. Then, I decided my garden bed was next. The Earths soil is so depleted of natural vitamins and minerals, it just seemed like a beneficial addition to the garden beds, as well as my future vegetables. I'm on the list for the next batch of calcium.
*Kitchen scraps - I seriously had been saving (as in keeping in 5 gallon buckets) tons of kitchen scraps for this project. With canning and the abundance of fruit and veggies I had late this summer I really wanted the scraps to be used for something amazing. I didn't want the chickens to get to it, and I had to save it someplace. Gross? Yes, very. But, it added a nice layer of super wet stuff to the beds, and the worms are in heaven.
*Compost - I hadn't emptied my compost bin in over a year. And I stopped adding stuff to it a couple month ago. What was inside was beautiful!!! Each bed got a lovely, dark, rich, amazing layer of compost.
*Red Worms - I just grabbed a scoop full of worms from the worm bin and tossed them in the pile
*Rabbit Poop - Even better than chicken poop. My neighbors bring me a container full of rabbit poop once a week. I am blessed! It's mixed in with the bedding which includes zeolites, a beneficial mineral and natural organic fertilizer often used for soil and gardening.
I layered all of this stuff into the garden beds, not necessarily in the order listed. I did my best at the 'wet layer, followed by a dry layer, followed by a wet layer' and so on. I'm actually still adding to it as more stuff comes to me (I have a constant flow of kitchen scraps, rabbit poop/zeolite bedding, chicken poop/straw). I'll stop adding in another month so it can rest and do it's work before I want to plant into it. by March, I'll add a layer of dirt/compost/straw mixture on top and plant seeds and starts right into it. It won't be completely dirt, but eventually it will. And it will be the best dirt EVER. This is the first time I've done this kind of gardening and I'm super excited about it! Can. Not. Wait.
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