Sheet Mulching for Soil Enrichment
The end of summer provides the best opportunity to enrich garden soil for the next growing season. Ben Stallings will hold a class in sheet mulching from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Community Garden. Offered through Flint Hills Technical College’s Community Connections series, with a grant from the Emil Babinger Charitable Trust. The fee is $9. For more information: 341-1392.
Live music from ESU
Members of the ESU A Capella Choir and guests from area schools will give a concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight at First United Methodist Church as part of a day-long choral festival held on campus. Carol Krueger directs.
The ESU Chamber Orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Heath Recital Hall, Beach Music Hall, at the corner of 12th Avenue and Market Street. Jeremy Starr conducts music by Elgar, Mozart and Granger. These two concerts are $5 general admission, $4 students and seniors.
Sunday at 3 p.m. piano students of Martín Cuéllar will perform, also in Heath Recital Hall. This concert is free.
For more information call 342-5431 or visit www.emporia.edu/music.
ZaneRokklyn (anonymous) says...
Um, actually the sheet mulching class was canceled due to lack of enrollment. But anyone who would like to learn about sheet mulching during that time can meet up with me at the new community garden just west of the United Methodist Campus Ministries building, on 13th St. west of Merchant, at that same time (1-4 pm Saturday). --Ben
October 6, 2011 at 3:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I find this rather funny because people sometimes play games with terminology.
Years ago, I read an article about this very same technique but the writer used the term "Lasagna gardening." Ever since then, I've been using this technique by piling on layers of green and dry stuff on top of the soil in my garden thus creating a compost pile right on the spot. In the spring, I plant right into the layers instead of turning the soil. When it rains or when I water, the water trickles down and fertilizes and enriches the soil with a compost tea. My asparagus loves this technique.
I've provided a link to a great article which states in part:
"Once you get the hang of it, sheet mulching can be used anywhere plants are grown in the ground. Sheet mulching may be used either in establishing a new garden or tree planting, or to enrich existing plantings. In both cases, mulch is applied to bare soil or on top of weeds. New plantings are planted through the mulch, and a small area is left open to accommodate established plants and trees.
Sheet mulch is put down in layers to mimic natural forest mulch: well decayed compost, weed barrier, partly decayed compost and raw organic matter."
I guess because it is put down in layers, they call it "lasagna" gardening.
Here is a link to that article on sheet mulching.
http://www.agroforestry.net/pubs/Shee...
October 7, 2011 at 7:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )