So I am trying out different ways to start a bed. I read that one of the possible methods is turning sod and planting on top of that (the theory was, that the grass won't grow (or at least not as aggressively) and the turned (covered) grass will decompose and provide nutrients for the soil microbiology).
What I have done is turned over grass - I slid a shovel under it and flipped it over, trying to take just little soil out - so now the grass is downside and soil is upside. Then I covered the whole area with tree leaves (some of them already started decomposing and contained fungi). Afterwards I put
cardboard on them weighted with bricks, mostly to protect the leaves from wind (so they stay in place).
But now I am not yet totally sure what to do. I have some soil that was left over from excavation work, which is mixed layer, but mostly deeper level soil, so probably not very good to directly plant in. But would it be okay to put maybe like 1-2 inch of this soil on top of the cardboard, mix it with some
compost (or maybe more leaves) and use a bit of potting mix in areas where I will be planting? Or maybe I could just put small mounds of potting mix on top of the cardboard and plant inside of those (and leave the cardboard as ground cover/mulch)?
My available resources: the mentioned poor soil, quite a bit of leaves, old logs (some have fungi on them), compost, some potting mix (not
enough to cover whole bed). Any ideas (ideally using these resources) are welcome.
Thanks for any replies in advance!
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