Lasagna Gardening

     So, I have tried the lasagna garden method before. It was more of a low key attempt to turn my horrid clay soil into something less clay like. I gathered materials like some newspapers, veggie peelings, egg shells, tea grounds and piles of leaves. My layers were not very thick, but it did help. 

     Then along came little E and I abandoned anything that took time. My garden became much smaller (and was non existent that first year). I simply had to pause that hobby (source of sanity) because between work and family I had little time and pretty much no energy. In fact the first six month to a year are a little fuzzy. Any full time working parents in the crowd? Little E was a horrible sleeper (honestly she still gets up and she is almost 4, but thankfully I get more like 5 to 6 hours instead of 3 to 4) so I was running on fumes most days.

     Now that things have settled and she is interested in taking part in the garden process I have more time and energy to devote towards gardening. She is actually pretty helpful in most aspects from planting, picking, and watering to composting. I decided the soil needed another pick me up so began hoarding materials this Spring and Summer in preparation for the lasagna garden. 

     So, you may be thinking-what is a lasagna garden? Essentially it is you creating dirt the old fashioned way... you know like Mother Nature does it. It is similar to a cold or slow compost. Be warned this method takes months (if a lot of material it could take up to almost a year). It has worked for me before, but I have ramped it up to see how much of a difference that makes. Essentially you layer your materials (much like a lasagna) alternating green and brown materials. 

     Green materials consist of items such as vegetable peelings, grass clippings, pulled up plants (most people do so without seeds but sometimes I throw them in so I can hopefully get some volunteers), coffee/tea grounds and manure. 

     Brown materials include cardboard, newspapers, word chips, wood ash, raked leaves, straw, or sawdust.

     As far as I can tell as long as you alternate green and brown you are good to go. It can be a few layers or a lot of layers. Theoretically the more layers the more dirt (compost) you will have as a final product. To help you understand (and see- I know I  am not the only visual person here) I took pictures of the process as I created my lasagna garden the other day.

     I did forget to get a pic of the layer of cardboard by itself, but as long as you overlap either cardboard or newspapers it will help make a nice weed barrier and set the stage. Then water it down well to keep it from flying away. If using newspapers make them several layers thick and water throughout or they can try your patience by flying away-more so than the cardboard. Also, pick a fairly non windy day to save yourself some frustration.

     Next put on a green layer. We used dried grass clippings and then laid some cornstalks on top that we had pulled up awhile back (kind of helps keep the layer from blowing away). 

     Next we went for more cardboard (but broken up so it will break down faster). We want the bottom layer to go slower so it should be thicker, but this one isn't a weed barrier. At this point it looked kind of like... well a trash bin, but I promise it will get better. Also, remember it could be any of the brown ingredients... I just happen to have hoarded a lot of cardboard. 

     Then, you guessed it- more greens. Though this time it was all the plants I had pulled up clearing the space. So, my wonderful veggie plants can produce one more time just in a different way. 

     I worried that it would be too thin of a layer once it broke down so I threw some more grass on there. Don't forget that you need to water between each layer. 

     Note that I put sticks on top because I was done for the time being and they help it settle and stay together. I figured I would wait until enough leaves fell and add them on later. Then I looked out a few days later and saw it was time to rake a bit. So I added a final brown layer.

     As you can see it has been piled well above the garden bed, but remember these are loose layers (like it should be as it composts better loose than when it is packed down hard) and when they break down it will shrink considerably. 

     I want to take a little moment to let you know that method can be used for other reasons than just to build up new (rich) soil. Some people do this exclusively to accomplish a no dig no till garden. Others use it to build a new garden bed and will plant directly into it typically after putting some soil down (usually just under the top layer or as the top layer ). Also, like I plan to do, they may add more to it over time. I will probably lay down some veggie peelings, dried grass, and coffee or tea grounds and then some more leaves. There are also some people who will add layers around plants as they grow. Remember it is up to you.

     Put down a few layers or several, keep adding on or do it one time and let it sit, use it immediately or wait for it to break down, it is your garden and your choice. 

     Have you ever tried a lasagna garden method? If so drop a comment and tell me about your experience. 

Happy Gardening Everyone!