AboutSojourner Expertise Intensive gardening along the lines of square-foot gardening and no-till methods such as Ruth Stout and "lasagna" gardening. Fed a family of 7 from the produce grown in the backyard of a city lot. Knowledgeable about most common garden crops, excluding cole crops other than cabbage (e.g. broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower etc. are not my cup of tea). Can help you to make the most of the space that you have - for instance, many community garden plots are fairly small. There are ways to maximize the space you have. Smaller is often better because it's not only more efficient spacewise, it's also easier to take care of - and the easier it is to take care of, the more likely you are to have a successful garden. No yard space whatsoever? I can help you with container growing as well. Give me a shout and I'll try to help.
Experience Vegetable gardener for most of my life, homesteaded for 8 years. Currently have my tiny yard (1'x15' strip along the back fence and a 3'x20 strip along the south side of the house) planted with 2 eggplants, 2 tomatoes, lettuce, coriander, green onions, basil, 4 bell pepper, 4 green pepper, watermelon, 3 yellow squash, 3 zucchini, and green beans. And flowers galore.
Education/Credentials College educated, currently working out a mid-life crisis by getting my doctorate and changing my profession
Question I want to start a raised bed garden to do some sq ft gardening in an area that's currently lawn. I need to put something down to kill the grass and keep it from coming up in the garden. I have a bunch of magazines ready to throw out and am considering using them for this purpose, but don't know if the inks used in them are safe to eat when they're absorbed by the vegetables once the magazines break down. What's your take on this?
Answer I wouldn't do it. Not because of the ink, but because the glossy paper used in magazines doesn't break down very well.
Instead use corrugated cardboard boxes, flattened, to kill the grass. You can cover this up with grass clippings or other mulch. They're free from nearly any grocery store, at WalMart they're even generally already flattened for you.
I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, my elderly father has been very ill and I've not been checking my e-mail consistently. Hope this information helps.
