National Naked Gardening Day

May 6, 2016 is National Naked Gardening Day. Are you going to join in??

I’m not quite sure I want to see it in it’s purest form. I’ll share with you our form in just a sec. According to the UPI: Gardeners from around the country took off their clothes and planted flowers to celebrate the 10th annual World Naked Gardening Day, organizers said. Mark Storey, 54, started the event with his friends after asking respondents in a poll what they enjoy doing naked, the New York Daily News reported. Swimming was the No. 1 response, but gardening came in at No. 2. (read full article here)

So, then, let me tell you OUR version of naked gardening. we’re using this image from Shovel Ready Garden because they did a pretty awesome job of it and I want to let you learn from them! (Learn about all the mistakes we’ve made along the way using this method).

Photo credit: http://shovelreadygarden.blogspot.com

Naked gardening is the act of stripping off all the compost, mulch, debris and add bits of things in a garden plot that has been at it a few years. We strip down everything, reposition the timbers if need be, adjust their screws to make sure they are still well connected. Then we let it all breath, amend it and start layering it all back in. (Learn about all the mistakes we’ve made along the way using this method).

We line cardboard to help deter weeds and an icky vine that permeates our yard (thanks old owners who planted it, and thanks old renters who never bothered with the upkeep so the stuff is rampant EVERYWHERE). The cardboard gradually breaks down adding to the organic mass. We also line the edges of the bed with cardboard to keep weeds/organic matter coming in the sides of the bed. It looks a little funny in the beginning having the cardboard standing up along the edges, but it soon begins to settle into the bed and you won’t see it. Large pieces we cut down.

Then we ‘dress’ the beds again after they’ve had a chance to be naked and air out for awhile. Our amended soil includes bat guano, lava sand, compost, chicken droppings, earth worm castsings, etc.

Then in go the plants, on goes the mulch, and watering happens.

Read the great tutorial here at Shovel Ready Garden for more specific how-to on creating this kind of garden bed.

So how’s that for naked gardening? 😀  And stop trying to peek under the wrap!

And to see more on the mistakes we made and lessons we’ve learned since beginning the square foot gardening method, check out this post:

And for even more gardening tips and ideas, click here: