Medicine Wheel Garden, Building the Soil, May 15

Our soil is very heavy and clayey, so we are using the "lasagna bed" or heavy mulching method to create a bed of rich soil. First we put down a layer of cardboard and newspapers:

Then we added a layer of chicken manure, Kevin's specialty. He pulled out cardboard boxes of the stuff that he had stored in the barn. You never know when you'll need a box of chicken shit! Sometimes I complain about his packrat ways, but he was the one who also stored away the cardboard and the newspapers. Wonder what else he has packed away around here!

On top the the chicken manure we added a layer of straw. Over the next weeks we will continue to add grass clippings (nitrogen) and straw (carbon) until we get 6-8 inches of material down. Then we will cover the whole thing with wood chip mulch and let it cook until next spring when plant.