With the weather warming up, many of us are starting to think about our gardens.

What will we plant? How much work will it involve? How should we prepare?

This past week, I spent some time with James Wilhite of Wilhite Landscaping (www.wilhitelandscape. com) and discovered a simple “recipe” for a garden that’s so easy, I’m ready to try it out myself.

Most of us love to think about gardens full of tomatoes, fresh peas, spinach, and other delicious vegetables, but the price we pay is spending Saturday afternoons getting dirt under our fingernails and “growing” a sore back!

But last Spring, Wilhite and the owners of Blue Moon Gardens (Mary Wilhite & Sharon Smith,) tried an experiment called a “lasagna garden” and here is the recipe:
Newspaper
Leaves
Compost
Alfalfa Hay
Bermuda Grass
Hay
Bone Meal
Blood Meal
Organic Fertilizer
Vegetable Transplants

Start by placing several layers of newspaper on the ground and wetting it. This will help smother the existing weeds.

Add thin layers of leaves, compost, alfalfa hay or Bermuda grass hay. Each layer of materials should be one to two inches thick. Sprinkle each layer with a light dusting of bone and blood meal, or an organic fertilizer.

Continue to create layers until the total depth is 12 to 16 inches. Add vegetable transplants by simply pulling back the layers until you reach the soil.

Place the roots of the transplants on the soil’s surface; they don’t need to be dug in. Replace the leaves and compost to cover the root ball of each transplant, and then water. Presto! You have begun your lasagna garden.

You can place a lasagna garden on top of an existing garden, or build it within frames made of untreated lumber — typically 1x12 — to create a nicely contained garden box of any size to fit your needs.

Just keep in mind that boxes wider than four feet can be difficult to work on without stepping inside.

The benefits of a lasagna garden are numerous. Besides the ease of getting it started, it constantly feeds itself with decomposing organic matter, has constant moisture, needs less water, is weed free, and feeds the underlying soil through the constant decomposition.

James Wilhite has tried this method only with vegetable transplants, but the folks at Blue Moon have sown seeds directly into the compost with great success.

With gardens this easy, we may never have to hoe, weed, or cultivate again! We’ll have to find something else to do with our weekends, like visiting the shops and restaurants in downtown Edom.

Since Easter is the focus during the next few weeks, the Edom shops and galleries are a great source for unique gifts. In addition, both restaurants in Edom will have special menus to celebrate the holiday.

On April 4, Edom Bakery and Grill will present an Easter Buffet, and The Shed Cafe will serve its annual Easter dinner.

Of course, the usual monthly “happenings” in Edom will continue. The Shed continues to host “Pickin’ and Grinnin’” every Tuesday night, and features homemade Mexican cuisine every Monday and Wednesday night.

The Edom Bakery is going Wi-Fi.

Happy Easter! And keep reading for more events.