I want a garden to grow food, but I can’t dig outside!
Debbie Bigelow, Allegany County Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener
Maybe you don’t even have an “outside” - or physical limitations, or lack of sturdy and willing helpers have kept you from considering growing your own food. Two solutions:
Containers - many foods can be successfully grown in large nursery pots, or in buckets. Herbs, lettuce, baby carrots, and many varieties of tomatoes do nicely in pots - if you have an outside doorstep that is in the sun, or a balcony or deck with sun exposure, place your containers in a suitable spot, then fill with soil. A good friend of mine grows all her vegetables in buckets lining the edge of her driveway, because that’s the only part of her yard that gets sun! Follow planting and fertilizing directions to assure a harvest. There is a wealth of information online and at your library on how to grow food in containers, and more and more seed companies are offering varieties specifically bred for containers. You don’t need fancy or expensive pots, either - ask your neighbors for their discards!
Lasagna gardening
This method of making garden beds requires no
strenuous digging at all - it utilizes the natural action of microbes to form
productive soil where there previously was none. The principle is to allow
Nature to make and keep soil in the condition it’s normally found: undisturbed
and covered with a layer of decomposed organic material. If you have a
patch of lawn that you would like to turn into a garden, or perhaps a
persistently weedy section of your property that takes ‘way too much time to
maintain, this is the method for you. By not rototilling or digging in
the ground, weed seeds are left undisturbed so they are not brought up to the
surface to germinate. Place layers of scrap cardboard or clean
newsprint on the mowed ground (clippings left where they are), then cover with
a thick layer of organic mulch - wood chips, decomposed leaves, grass
clippings, unfinished compost, a mixture of these, or my favorite, animal
manure mixed with bedding. (If you have a neighbor with livestock or
chickens, start cultivating that friendship!) Don’t layer grass clippings
thickly - mix with chopped leaves, rotted straw, manure etc to add loft to the
mix so it doesn’t compact. Leave the mulch in place to decompose, ideally over
a complete season, but depending on what mulch you use, you may be able to
plant in just a few weeks (I have used a couple bags of purchased soil mix over
the mulch layer, letting the plants find the rich nutrients below while they
grow). A substrate of rich compost will form over time, the bottom layer
suppressing grass and weeds. Thus this method also overcomes the limitations of
poor or clay soil. With minimal maintenance you will have a planting area
needing only an annual cover crop (something that will be killed by frost, like
oats) or a layer of mulch to restore. After the first year, avoid deep
soil disturbance and use organic materials as mulch for your plants to keep
weeds from germinating. Much more on this method is available online.
Ask your county’s Cornell Cooperative Extension
Master Gardeners for help! (Allegany County residents call (585) 268-7644
ext. 23 and leave a detailed message. We will research and reply!)