It is a no-dig organic gardening method that uses waste from your kitchen and yard and composts it “in place” to produce nutrient-rich soil.  The garden is constructed by putting down layers of organic material, these layers give the method it’s name.  It is also commonly known as “sheet composting.”

The Perks of a Lasagna Garden:

-A garden that’s jam-packed with nutrients.

-Few weeds because the newspaper creates a barrier below and the mulch protects the top.

-Good water retention because your soil is made up of compost which holds in water better than regular garden soil.

-No digging and minimal effort produces easily workable soil.

-A use for organic scraps from the kitchen and yard.

Ingredients:

Your lasagna garden will have two types of ingredients; “browns” and “greens.”  “Browns” include fall leaves, shredded newspaper, peat moss, coffee grounds and pine needles.  “Greens” include fruit and vegetable scraps, garden scraps and grass clippings. You can also add layers of manure or finished compost.

Sounds good?  Here’s how.

Although there are some basic principles to follow there is no specific “recipe” to make this method work.

Start by laying down brown corrugated cardboard or 3-5 layers of newspaper over the entire area that will become your garden.  You can put it down right over top of grass or weeds because the materials that you lay down will kill the lawn and weeds below so there is no need to dig the area in advance.  Spray the cardboard/newspaper with water.

Next alternate layers of greens and browns.  You want your brown layers to be about twice as thick as your green layers.  When you have finished layering you should have a garden that is raised about two feet.  The height will reduce as the ingredients “cook down” or decompose.

You can start a lasagna garden at any time of year but it is preferable to start in the fall when there is an abundance of leaves, clippings and garden scraps.  The layers will continue to decompose through the winter and the snow will help to bring moisture.  In the spring it will be ready to plant.  If you want to start you lasagna garden in the spring and plant it in the same year you should add your ingredients in many small layers of greens and browns and add layers of finished compost, peat and/or topsoil between them.  Top it off with 3 or 4 inches of finished compost or topsoil and then plant.

Lastly spread some type of mulch – this could be straw, grass clippings, bark mulch or chopped leaves – to keep weeds at bay and to help keep moisture in the soil.

Once the garden is established you can care for it as you would any other garden.

For More Information …

A simple internet search for “lasagna gardening” or “sheet composting” will provide mountains of material.

http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm offers information about lasagna gardening and specific crops.

For more general information on this method check out:

http://www.gardenersgardening.com/lasagnagardening.html

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/detailreport.cfm?usernumber=102&surveynumber=275

Submitted by Tahnis Cunningham

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 11:00 am and is filed under Dirty Little Secrets.