Lasagna Gardening

Bored with the age-old methodology of gardening which requires digging and tilling the earth. Here is a radical approach to gardening which requires less energy, work and money. Use lasagna gardening, a type of organic gardening, that is time-saving and environment-friendly.

What is Lasagna Gardening

As the name may suggest, lasagna gardening has nothing to do with growing lasagna in the garden. The name actually comes from the way the garden beds are grown with the help of layers, in much the same way that we make layers of ingredients in a pan of lasagna. Lasagna gardening is often referred to as 'no-dig gardening'. The method of growing the layers is called as sheet composting. In this layering method, the layers quickly build up soil that is rich in nutrients, more than in any average garden. This differs from the normal average garden because the organic material 'cooks down' overtime.

Lasagna gardening is environment-friendly, as it uses your yard and kitchen waste. You find it easy because there is no removing of sods and weeds, no digging and most importantly, you do not have to soil it. The first layer of the lasagna garden is of brown, corrugated cardboard or 3 to 4 layers of newspaper, put directly on the top of the grass or weed. Make sure to wet the layer before putting up the layer of newspaper. Watering the layer makes the area moist and attracts the earthworms that will loosen the soil.

Materials Required for Lasagna Gardening

You can put almost anything into the compost pile of your lasagna garden as everything breaks down providing rich soil and nutrients. Some of the materials required are:

• Leaves
• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Grass clippings
• Coffee grounds
• Tea leaves and tea bags
• Manure
• Peat moss
• Compost
• Seaweed
• Shredded newspaper or junk mail
• Pine needles
• Straw
• Hay
• Bark chips
• Coconut husks
• Wood ash

Weeds that have gone to seed, animal fats and feces should not be put into the compost layer.

When and How to Make a Lasagna Garden

Lasagna garden can be grown at any time of the year. Gardeners consider fall an appropriate time because of the availability of the organic materials they get from falling leaves and the general yard waste. Then you can let your garden break down and be ready by the spring time. The fall rains and winter snow keeps the garden moist assisting it to break down faster. One thing that the gardener must keep in mind is that the lasagna garden should be in such an area, where there is maximum sunlight and no shade at any time of the day. The layer above the newspaper or cardboard should consist of 2-3 inches of peat moss. Next layer should be a 4-8 inches thick layer of organic compound such as compost. After that add a layer of peat moss, and above it, an organic layer of grass clippings and so on. The process should be repeated until the beds are 18-24 inches high. The top of the bed should be sprinkled with wood ash.

Planting and Maintaining a Lasagna Garden

While planting, just dig down the bed. If you have used newspaper, gently shovel it. Or, if you have used cardboard, you will have to cut holes where you want to plant something. To maintain the garden, add mulch at the top in the form of bark chips, straw, grass clippings or leaves. Keep adding the mulch, as the time goes on. This maintains the composted garden sheet.

Benefits of Lasagna Gardening

• There are less weeds, as the newspaper or cardboard suppresses them below.
• Water retention capacity is better than the average garden soil because of the compost.
• Less requirement of fertilizers.
• Soil is loose, fluffy and easy to work.
• No tilling or digging.
• Environment-friendly as sheet compost reduces the volume of trash, that is the gardener can put kitchen scraps in it.

Most of the materials required for this kind of gardening are easily available at home and you save a lot of money, while putting up a fertile garden. Almost every vegetable and fruit can be grown in your lasagna garden. New gardens can be made fairly easily and it is time you tried it.