Out With the Lawn, In With the Veggies!

My sister's wedding was last Saturday and she and her husband had a lovely reception at their home, a typical suburban southern California house with a small backyard. The guests were pleasantly surprised to see not the typical small patch of grass but instead a very attractive and prolific vegetable garden! The kids acted as though they had found treasure, running from one plant to the next, amazed to see broccoli, peas, beans not on a store shelf but actually growing! They begged to taste them, that's right, kids asking to eat vegetables!

Six easy steps to replace your lawn with a veggie garden:

1. Kill lawn! (Cover with black plastic and solarize or use an herbicide).

2. Measure garden area and draw plan on graph paper. Limit width of beds to 4' or less so that you can reach the center. Paths should be 3' wide to accommodate wheelbarrows or garden carts.

3. Build raised beds from untreated lumber (some pressure treated wood can contain toxic substances) such as cedar or redwood, or purchase raised bed kits.

4. Fill beds with purchased topsoil or potting soil. (Check with local nurseries for source of bulk soil to order by the cubic yard, much cheaper than buying bagged soil).

5. Cover paths with weed barrier cloth, then cover with gravel or bark chips.

6. PLANT YOUR FAVORITE VEGGIES!!!!!!

HAPPY GARDENING!