I was watching a gardening show on PBS the other day. They where talking to an Asian man who was doing trench gardening. He just dug a 4 inch deep trench in his lawn and planted his veggies in it. He also did over planting of certain veggies. He also planted a lot of his veggies under trees and under a black walnut and everything was looking so healthy and good. Has anyone ever tried the trench gardening? It would be so much easier that working up a whole area. Just dig a trench in your lawn where you want veggies and then just mow the grass in between the rows. I would think that the grass would act like mulch in between your rows. Plus you do not have to worry about compacting your soil by walking on the grass pathways between your rows. Sound like a super idea.
Tooty, I had never heard of this. Trench composting, yes (putting your kitchen scraps and green debris in a trench in your garden, and covering it over). I don't see why it wouldn't work, except the grass might encroach on the trench. It would be an interesting experiment on a small scale to see how it worked.
I have used beds for veggie gardening. Actually it is the only way I garden. Trenching is used to conserve water. As I have seen it done it is pretty much like bed gardening only the dirt is dug out, compost is added, then dirt, and you plant in the dug out basin that is made to create a water catch. You mulch the area. Using beds I have found the veggies will shade out the grass if planted thickly and you use consecutive plantings. You still have to weed occasionally or keep the lawn mowed. Here is one site that has the recipe for trench gardening as used a few years agohttp://www.moya.co.sz/gardens.htm# Let us know if you decide to try it and how it goes.
Marlin they do say to put your veggie scraps in the bottom of the trench and then put composted manure mixed with soil and then soil to plant your veggie in. I to had never heard of this type of gardening. Sounds really interesting. Jewell I checked out your link and their trench is way to wide from what I saw on the TV show. That trench was only about 10 inches wide. But the idea is the same principle. I think I will give it a try this year and see what happens. Interesting to hear that you have tried it. I hope others on the stew have tried it and can give one a few more tips and tricks.
KK Ng Yes it would be a lot of crawling on the ground to plant your seeds. Then there would be the job of digging the trench itself. I may have to rethink this one.
