4 minute read
Hot Jobs
(Part 3)
By Donna Nesbit, Grayson County Master Gardener
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The gardener’s philosophy has been determined, and the design is found; now it is time to establish the method for the garden. The method will be determined by several factors. The space available for the garden, the time available to spend on the garden, and the use of the garden. When these are determined, the method and plants can be decided. Three major types of methods are used. The first method is based on the arrangement of the soil. The next two are based on the plantings. One is on the arrangement of the plants in the garden, and the other is on the location of the garden. The methods based on the soil are raised-bed method, straw bale method, keyhole method, straightfrom-the-soil-bag method, lasagna method, Hugel culture method, core method, spiral method, double-dug bed method, in-ground method, no-till method. The raised -bed, straw-bale, lasagna, Hugelculture, spiral, straight-from-thesoil-bag, and key-hole methods raise the growing area above ground level. These methods can be used with less than ideal growing areas. For the raised-bed method, boxes are filled with growing medium. The boxes can be made with any non-toxic material then filled with purchased soil or a combination of compost, mulch, and soil. This method is usually used with organic philosophy and used with a variety of designs. It is not considerate a container garden since it is usually not moveable.
With straw bale or straight-fromthe-soil-bag methods, a purchased bag of soil or a straw bale is put on the ground and plants planted directly into them. Both the soilbag and straw bale add nutrients to the growing medium. The straw bale also adds warmth through decomposition allowing for a longer growing season. These are usually based on organic philosophies and used with a variety of designs. The core, lasagna, Hugel culture, and no-till methods are very similar to each other. In them, the existing soil is not disturbed; rather, coarse branches or grasses are layered with compost and other materials that will decompose ending with soil. The plants are put in the top layer and then mulched. They will require less digging and weeding, but it takes a large variety of materials. These methods are usually organic or permaculture, and work with a wide variety of designs; however, some of them make raised areas that will sink as the material decomposes. They do not work well with mechanical means of planting. The spiral and keyhole garden start with a circular design. In the spiral method, soil is spiraled up from the outside to the center. More drought tolerant plants are placed in the center with the least drought tolerant plants at the bottom. The garden is watered at the top most part allowing the water to spiral or percolate down to the lower levels. Since the water spirals down to the lower levels, the top stays drier than the bottom. It is a very water efficient method for the organic gardener. It is not practical for wetland or container designs. The keyhole garden is a circle with a cut-out on one edge that reaches the center. A composting bin made with a water permeable material is placed in the center of the garden. Plants are added around the rest of the area. The cut-out or keyhole allows compost to be added to the bin, and the garden is watered in the center. This allows the nutrients from the compost to reach the rest of the plants. This would also be an organic philosophy and can work with a variety of designs except container design. The in-ground and double-dug gardens are usually done in rows in the ground. These are more traditional methods and usually used more for vegetable beds. The next set of methods are based on how the plants are arranged in the garden. These methods are square foot, waffle, and companion gardens. Square foot gardeners mark the planting area into squares, usually 12”X12”. Plants are then placed in each square
(Continued on page 10)
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