Hi,
I have been growing things in my backyard, starting with veggies in containers and now branching into edible foundation plantings (elderberries, goumi, spicebush, mulched with comfrey) and a
greenhouse (mostly figs), for several years. I have just put in a
permaculture container garden in the back
yard, near my
greenhouse. Now we have had the lateral (a big sewage drainage pipe) replaced in front, leaving the south half of our lawn denuded except for foundation plantings (Knockout roses, ornamental elderberries [my favorites!]) and hostas on either side of the walkway. I am staring at a 32 by 27 foot stretch of former lawn, denuded of topsoil, somewhat irregular in surface. We live in Zone 7a. We were getting a lot of
cardboard, but I fear it was mostly put in the recycling before the lateral was dug (I had no idea they would rip up the entire southern half of the lawn). Hubby wants to plant grass seed; I told him it needed better topsoil, but he just wants to lay it on the brown bottom soil (Is that the right term?) exposed by the digging. I asked him if I could put in tree guilds or some other form of
permaculture; he said sure; he just wanted the soil anchored, hence the grass seed. Is now a good time to get a few
trees (I am leaning toward pawpaws; I harvested my first ones [and am still harvesting] this season and find them hardier than figs) and start some guilds, maybe an herb spiral? I can see I will need to plant more goumis and maybe divide my comfrey to
beef up the soil, along with some bags of soil conditioner.
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