Nutrients for Plants
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#9: Building a "Lasagna" Garden
With this approach, you can build a garden without having to dig sod or fire up a tiller.
By smothering grass or a weedy patch with layers of mulch and organic matter - akin to
assembling lasagna layer by layer - you're setting up an environment that will suppress
unwanted plant growth and encourage decomposing organisms to turn your
"ingredients" into rich soil.
Some gardeners prefer to let decomposers do their work through fall and winter, and
plant the bed in spring. Others plant directly into the mulch, or into pockets of compost
or soil nestled within it, as soon as it is built.
Start by thinking of sources for organic matter - grass clippings, leaves, hay, shredded
newspapers, coffee grounds, livestock manure, etc. Sprinkle our mineral-rich plant
food between the layers for an incredibly rich lasagna garden. Note: To be safe, it's
best not to use clippings from lawns that have been treated with pesticides and
herbicides.
Step 1: Level existing vegetation. Use a lawn mower, leaving clippings in place, or
stomp tall grass and weeds flat to the ground.
Step 2: Define your beds. Use stakes or a garden hose to mark the edges of your
bed. Beds should be narrow enough that you can reach the center without straining.
That way, you can work from the paths and stay off the beds, preventing compaction.
Step 3: Smother it! Lay damp newspaper over the defined area, about ½” thick,
overlapping the edges by at least two inches. If you create multiple beds, cover the
pathways between them with newspaper topped with a thick layer of sawdust, bark
mulch, or wood chips.
Step 4: Mulch, mulch, and mulch some more. Spread organic matter in layers.
Keep off the bed as much as possible to reduce compaction. Spray dry materials with
water until they are as damp as a well-wrung-out sponge before adding the next layer. If
you use materials that contain weed seed, such as hay or uncomposted horse manure,
use them as lower layers in your lasagna to minimize weed growth.
Keep adding layers until the bed is covered at least 18” to 24”. To hasten
decomposition, use high-nitrogen material, such as fresh grass clippings or livestock
manure, alternated with layers of high-carbon materials like straw and brown leaves.
Decomposers will get to work and turn this smorgasbord into a rich medium for planting
by the next spring. Or you can follow Step 5 and "bake" your lasagna.
If you plan to plant immediately, go to step 6.
Step 5: "Cook" your lasagna. Cover the mulched area with black plastic and weight
the edges with soil or timbers. Dark colors absorb the sun's rays, heating up the
materials and hastening decomposition. The lasagna should be transformed within
about 6 weeks if temperatures remain above freezing.
Step 6: Planting. Pat Lanza, who lives in upstate New York, and is the author of
Lasagna Gardening, has had success planting her lasagna beds immediately after
building them, even in autumn. Wherever you live, you may wish to experiment with fall
planting. Be sure to give perennials several weeks to grow and establish their roots
before a hard frost is due.
To transplant, pull mulch away to form a hole, sprinkle in a pinch of our plant food,
install the plant, and firm the mulch back around its roots. You can also fill planting
holes with compost or soil, and then put plants in place. To sow seeds, sift an inch or
two of compost or soil over the surface of the mulch, plant seeds, and cover with more
compost. Keep the seedbed moist, and as soon as the seedlings emerge, gently pull
mulch around them. Monitor them daily to make sure they have enough moisture.
Maintaining Lasagna Beds
Watering. Mulch captures moisture and reduces evaporation (and reduces your
efforts spent hauling hoses and watering cans). You can also install drip irrigation
before building lasagna beds, so you'll have to manually water only seedlings and new
transplants. Once their roots become established in the rich organic mulch, you can let
the irrigation system take over.
You can also use gallon milk jugs or 2-liter soda bottles as free, slow-drip watering
tools. Using a pin, punch tiny holes in the lower half of each jug - both bottoms and
sides. Bury them in the bed near plants and fill them, and they will slowly leak water that
plants can use.
Keep mulching! Add an inch or two of mulch every couple of weeks during the
growing season to feed and build soil. Regular mulching means you'll have fewer weeds
to remove, and those that do grow will be easier to pull. The less you disturb the
surface of the bed while working in the garden, the fewer weed seeds will be exposed to
the sunlight they need to germinate.
Keep feeding! Every few weeks, sprinkle the dry plant food on the top of the soil, mix it
in and water it in. Or mix the powder with water (1 tsp. powder per gallon of water) and
water your plants.
Maintain paths. We recommend mulching paths to keep weeds from making inroads.
Use materials that are slow to decompose: wood chips, bark mulch, etc.
To learn more about this type of gardening, read Pat Lanza’s book Lasagna Gardening.
Resource:
National Gardening Association
By smothering grass or a weedy patch with layers of mulch and organic matter - akin to
assembling lasagna layer by layer - you're setting up an environment that will suppress
unwanted plant growth and encourage decomposing organisms to turn your
"ingredients" into rich soil.
Some gardeners prefer to let decomposers do their work through fall and winter, and
plant the bed in spring. Others plant directly into the mulch, or into pockets of compost
or soil nestled within it, as soon as it is built.
Start by thinking of sources for organic matter - grass clippings, leaves, hay, shredded
newspapers, coffee grounds, livestock manure, etc. Sprinkle our mineral-rich plant
food between the layers for an incredibly rich lasagna garden. Note: To be safe, it's
best not to use clippings from lawns that have been treated with pesticides and
herbicides.
Step 1: Level existing vegetation. Use a lawn mower, leaving clippings in place, or
stomp tall grass and weeds flat to the ground.
Step 2: Define your beds. Use stakes or a garden hose to mark the edges of your
bed. Beds should be narrow enough that you can reach the center without straining.
That way, you can work from the paths and stay off the beds, preventing compaction.
Step 3: Smother it! Lay damp newspaper over the defined area, about ½” thick,
overlapping the edges by at least two inches. If you create multiple beds, cover the
pathways between them with newspaper topped with a thick layer of sawdust, bark
mulch, or wood chips.
Step 4: Mulch, mulch, and mulch some more. Spread organic matter in layers.
Keep off the bed as much as possible to reduce compaction. Spray dry materials with
water until they are as damp as a well-wrung-out sponge before adding the next layer. If
you use materials that contain weed seed, such as hay or uncomposted horse manure,
use them as lower layers in your lasagna to minimize weed growth.
Keep adding layers until the bed is covered at least 18” to 24”. To hasten
decomposition, use high-nitrogen material, such as fresh grass clippings or livestock
manure, alternated with layers of high-carbon materials like straw and brown leaves.
Decomposers will get to work and turn this smorgasbord into a rich medium for planting
by the next spring. Or you can follow Step 5 and "bake" your lasagna.
If you plan to plant immediately, go to step 6.
Step 5: "Cook" your lasagna. Cover the mulched area with black plastic and weight
the edges with soil or timbers. Dark colors absorb the sun's rays, heating up the
materials and hastening decomposition. The lasagna should be transformed within
about 6 weeks if temperatures remain above freezing.
Step 6: Planting. Pat Lanza, who lives in upstate New York, and is the author of
Lasagna Gardening, has had success planting her lasagna beds immediately after
building them, even in autumn. Wherever you live, you may wish to experiment with fall
planting. Be sure to give perennials several weeks to grow and establish their roots
before a hard frost is due.
To transplant, pull mulch away to form a hole, sprinkle in a pinch of our plant food,
install the plant, and firm the mulch back around its roots. You can also fill planting
holes with compost or soil, and then put plants in place. To sow seeds, sift an inch or
two of compost or soil over the surface of the mulch, plant seeds, and cover with more
compost. Keep the seedbed moist, and as soon as the seedlings emerge, gently pull
mulch around them. Monitor them daily to make sure they have enough moisture.
Maintaining Lasagna Beds
Watering. Mulch captures moisture and reduces evaporation (and reduces your
efforts spent hauling hoses and watering cans). You can also install drip irrigation
before building lasagna beds, so you'll have to manually water only seedlings and new
transplants. Once their roots become established in the rich organic mulch, you can let
the irrigation system take over.
You can also use gallon milk jugs or 2-liter soda bottles as free, slow-drip watering
tools. Using a pin, punch tiny holes in the lower half of each jug - both bottoms and
sides. Bury them in the bed near plants and fill them, and they will slowly leak water that
plants can use.
Keep mulching! Add an inch or two of mulch every couple of weeks during the
growing season to feed and build soil. Regular mulching means you'll have fewer weeds
to remove, and those that do grow will be easier to pull. The less you disturb the
surface of the bed while working in the garden, the fewer weed seeds will be exposed to
the sunlight they need to germinate.
Keep feeding! Every few weeks, sprinkle the dry plant food on the top of the soil, mix it
in and water it in. Or mix the powder with water (1 tsp. powder per gallon of water) and
water your plants.
Maintain paths. We recommend mulching paths to keep weeds from making inroads.
Use materials that are slow to decompose: wood chips, bark mulch, etc.
To learn more about this type of gardening, read Pat Lanza’s book Lasagna Gardening.
Resource:
National Gardening Association