posted April 25, 2004 08:23 PM         

Here is a tiny excerpt from the first book I mentioned:

"Lasagna gardening is a layering system for bountiful gardens that requires no digging, no tilling, and no weeding. It's an organic process that is neat and efficient, using materials found around your yard or neighborhood to create a wonderful soil.
All you need to build a lasagna bed is some newspaper and a variety of natural ingredients such as compost, grass clippings, chopped leaves, and peat moss. To start, you'll spread thick sections of wet newspaper over the ground. On top of the paper, you'll add alternating layers of the organic materials you've collected. It's that simple!"

Clearly, there's more to it than that, but that's a simple explanation for starters, in case the term "lasagna gardening" is entirely unfamiliar to some. The first time I heard it, my thoughts jumped to actual lasagna, and I envisioned little lasagna trees growing out of the ground!

posted April 25, 2004 08:39 PM         

Ruth Stout was the grande dame of lasagna gardening. I call it lazy gardening because anyone can do it, anywhere. The jest of it is that you make piles of compost: grass clipping, leaves, shredded paper, sawdust, straw, just about anything thing that degrades, and put your seeds in it and watch them grow. And yes it is that easy.

Ruth Stout was an elderly woman, that lived with her husband and mother. Because she had so much work to do taking care of them, she devised an easy way to make a garden. She tells how her neighbors made fun of her in her books. But after many years of watching her, they too changed how they thought about planting a garden.

The book you have is very good. If I remember rightly though, the author was a bit of a neat freak and used cardboard on the botton and some type of fencing to corral the pile of compost. I don't use cardboard, but you can. As with the fencing. A cute little picket fence would be great. You can plant flowers and anything else this way, not just veggies.

posted April 28, 2004 04:35 PM         

quote:

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There's no magic formula for a lasagna bed. I use whatever materials I can get my hands on easily. Sometimes that includes composted manure or cmposted barn litter, because I live in a rural area. You'll soon discover what materials you can scrounge for free in your area, and of course, you can always buy bagged organic materials at a garden center.
The bottom layer of a lasagna garden is always newspaper. By covering the sod with wet newspaper, you eliminate the need to dig or till. That's becasue you've created the perfect environment (one that's dark and moist) for earthworms. Earthworms are natural tilling marvels. They tunnel through the soil, consuming and digesting organic materials as they go. Their work creates channels taht allow air and water to move through the soil. Their excrement, called castings, is a high-quality source of nutrients in a form that plant roots can absorb. Essentially, earthworms convert the raw materials yo've layered in a lasagna bed into raw materials you've layered in a lasagna bed into rich garden soil. (Microorganisms and other soil-dwelling critters play a role in this process, too.) There's no need to mix up the layers - Mother Nature will take care of that. Gardening just got a whole lot easier!

Mother Nature Wrote the Recipe
I didn't invent the layering process I call lasagna gardening - Mother Nature did! She's been doing it for eons. A forest is a perfect example of nature's version of lasagna layering. Tress are always shedding dead leaves, twigs, and branches. After this debris drops to the forest floor, it decomposes and eventually becomes a rich, dark, organic material called humus. More debris drops each year, so the forest floor is carpeted with fallen leaves covering a soft cushion of humus that every nature lover enjoys walking on.
Mother Nature isn't very tidy, and her helter-skelter method of layering wouldn't pass the "neat gardener test" in suburbia. Also, in nature, decomposition can be a very slow process. Sometimes it takes years to transform organic materials into a single inch of rich black soil. I've refined Mother Nature's method so it's faster, neater, and more manageable on a small scale.
Lasagna gardening mimics Mother Nature's recipe for converting organic waste into food for plants. It's easy and fast, but more than anything, it's a wonderful way to reuse what we have rather than consigning it to a landfill. Lasagna gardening is smart recycling! I can't help but wince every time I see a trash-hauling crew picking up bags of leaves and throwing them into a garbage truck. I think about all the food and flowers that could have grown in those leaves if they'd been used for lasagna gardening, instead. So I do my share by putting as much waste to good use as I can and by sharing my recipe for gardening success with everyone I know.

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Layering the Lasagna Way
That fall, I layered the vegetable garden for the first time by covering the soil with fresh horse manure. I covered the manure with leaves and grass clippings.
In spring, the results weren't as successful as I had hoped. My soil was easier to work, but I had a bumper crop of weeds. No wonder - they'd grown up throught he layers and wwere deliriously happy in the rich composted manure, grass, and leaves. It was clear I needed something to block the weeds.
One day, while I was bundling up the week's newspapers, inspiration struck. I thought about times when I had put the papers out for pickup and it had rained. The recycling crew wouldn't take wet paper, so the bundle had sat on the grassy area next to the curb for a week. When I'd moved the bundle, the grass underneath was yellowed and drying, and I could see earthworms right on the surface. This was the answer to my weed woes: Newspaper under the organic layer to block the weeds.
Back in the garden, inspired, I stomped the weeds down and covered the entire area with thick pads of newspaper before I began to layer. With the newspapers as a base, I realized I could then pile up my organic materials without fighting weeds along the way. I've made many lasagna gardens since then, large and small - and in containers, too. (I'll show you the ropes of lasgna gardening in containers in Chapter 2.) I've found that no matter what size or shape the garden, my lasagna system works to produce beautiful soil without back-breaking work.

Lasagna Gardening Basics

...

No Digging
Lasagna gardening saves you from hours of digging. By covering the sod with newspaper and organic materials, you create the perfect environment - dark, warm, and moist - for earthworms to do their stuff. They churn the soil, so you don't have to! Plus, the thick base layer of newspaper will choke out the plants on the site, so you don't need to dig out weeds or grass before you start, either.

Pick a Garden Spot
The first step in building a lasagna bed is to mark your site (or for a container garde, to choose your container). I like to use stakes and string to lay out a square or rectangular garden. For a garden with a curved outline, such as a small bed for a mix of annuals and perenials, you can use a garden hose or rope to lay out the design. When you're satisfied with the shape, gather a bucket of sand, a cup, and a funnel. Use the cup, to pour sand into the funnel. Then you can remove the hose or rope, and the sand will remain as your guideline.

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I don't mind typing out more if you're interested, but I don't want to wear you out if it's too much info at one time.

posted May 14, 2004 01:03 PM         

quote:

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Chapter One

Lasagna Gardening Basics

When I first started gardening, I thought I had to doit all. The gardeners I knew and the books and magazinesI read said to remove the sod, then till, dig, andeven double-dig the top 12 to 18 inches of soil before starting agarden. This message is intimidating. It's enough to make youwant to throw in the trowel before you even get started!

I followed that approach in my own garden for many years.But when the children left home and I began to garden alone, I washard-pressed to keep up with the demands of my job and keep thegarden going. Then one year I was so busy that I didn't have thegarden tilled at all. Instead, I piled it high with the contents of allthe compost piles, several bales of peat moss, and lots of aged barnlitter. I bought plants, plunked them in holes, and gave them arough mulch of grass clippings each time I mowed. It was a messto look at but a great garden for production. When I could find aplant among the weeds, I would harvest record numbers of fruitsand vegetables. It was amazing!

Still, I felt guilty about the way the gardenlooked, so I tried to start and run therotary tiller. It finally started, but I lost controlwhen it hit a rock, and it went careening off onits own, like a chicken with its head cut off.The whole experience scared me to death, andI vowed never to try it again. During the restof that summer, I thought about my neglectedvegetable garden and its generous yield. Sure,anyone can have a great garden with deeplydug or tilled soil. But I liked the idea of doingless work and getting better results. The ideaof lasagna gardening was born.

What Is Lasagna Gardening?

No, it doesn't mean growing your ownlasagna! Lasagna gardening is a nontraditional,organic, layering method you can use to createbetter soil while keeping your gardens neatand attractive. (The name comes from thelayers you'll be making to create your beds—theyreminded me of making lasagna!) Basedon a commonsense approach and readily availablenatural ingredients, lasagna gardening isan easy; time-saving way to install and maintainany kind of garden without removing thesod, digging, or tilling. Close planting andgenerous mulching greatly reduce the timeneeded for watering and weeding. Andbecause of the healthy growing environment,lasagna gardens are plagued with fewer gardenpests. Using no power tools, heavy equipment,or expensive additives, one person can easilycreate and enjoy a healthy, productive garden.

Why Lasagna Gardening?

The answer is simple: It saves work, energy,time, and money. After you make thebeds, all you have to do each year is plant andmulch—no tilling or heavy digging required.The ground stays cool and damp under thelayers of mulch, so regular watering is a thingof the past. Setting the plants close togetherencourages them to fill in faster, so weeds don'tstand a chance, and the few that do pop up areeasy to pull from the loose mulch. Lasagnagardens give you a place to recycle nearly all ofthe wastes from your property, so you'll keepthose garden trimmings and kitchen scrapsout of landfills. Best of all, lasagna gardens arechemical-free, so you'll become a more earth-friendlygardener, providing healthy food forthe table and a safe habitat for birds and butterflies.You'll surround yourself with beautifuland healthy growing spaces and enjoy thepleasure and stress-relief you only get fromgardening.

Lasagna gardening is for busy peoplewho have the urge to put their hands in thesoil. It's for people who are power-tool challenged.It's for anyone who is not able to gardentraditionally because of age or physicallimitations. It's for the new gardener. It's forthe environmentally conscious. It's for thelegions of us who are stressed and overworked.It's the way to have it all without doing it all.

Getting Started

Creating any kind of garden, whethertraditional or lasagna, starts with two basicquestions: What do you want to grow andwhere will you put the garden? If you have alarge property, you probably have your choiceof sites. In this case, you can first decide whatyou'd like to grow, then choose a spot that fitsthe needs of those plants. If you want to raisevegetables, for instance, you'll look for a spotthat's open and sunny, so you can grow thewidest variety of crops.

Those of you with limited space are betteroff choosing a site first, then selecting plantsthat will thrive in the growing conditions thatspot has to offer. Sure, most plants will grow inless-than-ideal conditions. But their yield orflowering will also be less than optimum, andthey'll be more prone to pests and diseases. Bymatching the plants to the site, you'll be wellon your way to creating a naturally healthy,top-producing, easy-care garden.

Select a Site

If you have plenty of possible sites for anew garden, it can be difficult to decide onthe perfect spot. I find it helpful to start witha plan of my property. This isn't anythingformal: just an outline of the property drawnroughly to scale, with buildings, the driveway,and other permanent features (such as trees,large shrubs, play areas, patios, and walkways)sketched in. Make a few photocopies of thisbase plan, so you can make notes on one copyand pencil in different garden layouts onanother copy without messing up the original.

Start with a Base Map. Not sure where you want your new lasagnagarden? To identify possible sites on your property, make a simplemap of your yard, sketching in the existing features, such as buildingsand trees.

Now Make Notes. Jot down comments about your soil conditions,shade patterns, and other observations right on a copy of your yardmap. Besides helping you identify a good site right now, it will alsobe handy for planning future gardens.

Take a copy of your base plan and headout to your yard. Unless you're planning toreplace an existing planting, you'll probablywant to consider only areas that are currentlyin grass for your new garden. Now, take a goodlook around.

Sun and Shade. The easiest things toobserve are the shade patterns cast by trees,buildings, and other features. On your plan,use a pencil or crayon to color in the areasthat are in shade. Actually, it's smart to repeatthis exercise in the morning, at midday, andagain in the afternoon, so you can get anaccurate assessment of how many hours ofsunlight the different areas get during theday. If you're extremely organized, it's idealto observe the shade patterns several timesduring the spring, summer, and fall beforeplanting. An area that's in full sun at springplanting time can end up in full shade bymidsummer, when nearby trees have fullyexpanded their leaves. When this muchadvance planning isn't practical, you'll justhave to make an educated guess about theaverage amount of sun a particular site gets.If necessary, you can adjust some of yourplant choices later on as you learn more aboutthe spot you've chosen.

A site that's in full sun eight or morehours every day gets enough light to support awide variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, andflowers. Many of the same plants can get by onsix to eight hours of sun, although they maynot yield as much or flower as generously aswhen growing in full sun. Spots with less thansix hours of sun a day can still support greatgardens, but you'll need to choose your plantsmore carefully to find the ones that thrive insomewhat shady spots. To find out more aboutthe light needs of specific plants, refer to theirentries in the following chapter's.

Water and Wind. Next, take a closerlook at the ground. As you walk around, noteany areas where water forms puddles after aheavy rain or spots that feel soggy underfoot,and mark them on your plan. These poorlydrained spots are less than ideal for mostgarden plants, as soggy soil tends to rot roots,so it's better to choose a drier site for yourlasagna garden.

Think about how the wind blowsthrough your property, too. Some wind isgood, since it circulates air around your plantsand helps leaves and stems dry quickly afterrain, discouraging diseases. An open site that'sfrequently exposed to strong gusts can be aproblem, though, since the wind draws waterout of plants quickly and may cause them towilt. Wind can also knock down taller plants.If you live on top of a hill or another frequentlywindy location, choose a site where yourlasagna garden will be sheltered by shrubs,trees, a fence, or a building.

Decide What to Grow

You probably already have some idea ofwhat you want to grow in your lasagna garden.This is a good time to write down a wish list ofall of your ideas. If you enjoy cooking homegrownproduce or eating it right from theplant, vegetables and fruits are likely at the topof your list. Cooks will get plenty of use from agarden of Culinary herbs, too. If crafts are afavorite hobby, how about planting scentedherbs for potpourri, or a cut-flower garden toprovide a bounty of blooms for fresh arrangementsor drying? Want to liven up your landscapewith colorful plantings? Make a lasagnagarden packed flail of shrubs and perennials, orperhaps a mixture of dwarf conifers and rock-gardenplants for close-up viewing.

Take a Soil Test

Once you've decided on a spot for yourgarden, and you have some idea of what youwant to grow, it's time to take a closer look atyour soil—specifically, its pH. pH is a measureof how acid or alkaline your soil is, which inturn affects how your plants will grow. It ismeasured on a scale from 1 to 14, with 7 beingneutral. (A pH below 7 indicates acidity;above 7 is alkaline.) Most plants grow bestwhen the soil pH falls somewhere between 6.5and 7.2. So, how do you find out your soil'spH? Take a soil test!

Start by collecting a few spoonfuls of soilfrom five or six different spots in the areawhere you plan to put your lasagna garden.Mix them together to create a representativesample of the soil. Then, check the samplewith a home test kit (available at garden centers),or send it to a soil-testing lab for a professionalanalysis. You can find a lab by askingthe staff of your local nursery or garden centerfor their recommendations, calling your localExtension Service, or checking in your telephonedirectory under "Laboratories, Testing."

Lab tests cost more but give you adetailed report of your soil's nutrient contentas well as its pH. Some also provide recommendationson what you need to add to counteractnutrient imbalances, based on the plantsyou want to grow. This full-scale testing mightbe a good idea if you are really curious aboutyour soil, or if plants already growing on ornear the site aren't as healthy or vigorous asyou'd normally expect. To be honest, though,I've never had a professional soil test done onany of my gardens. I rely on a simple home testkit that allows me to check each gardens pH.I've found that the nutrient levels seem to takecare of themselves, so I don't worry aboutthem too much. Lasagna gardening gives youtotal control over what goes into your soil, soyou can build soil that is pretty near perfect forgrowing most home crops.

Whichever testing approach you take, besure to jot down whatever results you end upwith. You'll refer back to these notes later, asyou choose and apply your lasagna ingredients.

Gathering Lasagna Ingredients

The key ingredients in any lasagna gardenare organic materials. These include peatmoss, animal manures, shredded leaves, andother mulches; compost; and other materialsrecycled from garden and household wastes,such as grass clippings, coffee grounds, andvegetable peelings. Gather as much of thesenutrient-rich materials as you can from yourown property, and see if your neighbors arewilling to share any organic materials theydon't use for their own gardens. If you stillneed more materials, you can buy them fromyour local garden or home center.

Develop a Mulch Mentality

Understanding mulch—what it is, what itdoes, what organic materials make goodmulch, and where to get them—is the first stepin becoming a committed lasagna gardener.

So, what is mulch, and what does it do?Basically, a mulch is anything that covers andshields your soil from baking sun, dryingwind, and pounding rain. This could includea layer of chopped leaves, a sheet of blackplastic, or even closely spaced plants. But forthe purposes of lasagna gardening, we'respecifically interested in organic mulches.While these mulches cover and protect thesoil, they also release materials that feedearthworms and other helpful soil organisms.In turn, these organisms release nutrients in aform that plant roots can absorb. Think of it.

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Excerpt from: Lasagna gardening : a new system for great gardens : no digging, no tilling, no weeding, no kidding! / Patricia Lanza.

posted October 06, 2004 05:08 PM         

Ok, so here's what Patricia Lanza has to say about container gardening in her book Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces.

" .... Matching the plant to the space available is the key to success with container gardens. Read plant tags and catalog descriptions and watch for plants described as compact, dwarf, or good for containers. It helps to know the minimum size container for the plant. For example, most annuals, perennials, and herbs will grow well in containers that hold from 2 to 4 gallons of planting mix. Vegetables vary in their needs - check "Mix-and-Match Containers" on page 106 for specific guidelines. If you don't know the volume of a container, ask a salesperson for information. For containers you already have, eyeball an approximation by imagining how many gallon jugs would fit in the container.
You'll want to plant containers fairly densely - nothing looks more forlorn than a big container with gaps between scrawny plants. But keep in mind how much the plants will expand during the growing season. Deciding what plants will share containers space well takes a little practice. Container gardens are everywhere these days so keep your eyes open for combinations you like, and try recreating them. Think about sun and shade needs - you wouldn't want to plant a shade-lover like coleus in the same container with sun-loving salvias and petunias. It's also a good idea to mix plants of different heights and textures to create interest. Choosing a color theme may help you plan your container plantings, and in Chapter 3 you'll find plenty of great ideas and plant suggestions for color theme combinations.

Choosing and Using Containers
Containers come in many wonderful shapes, sizes, and materials. Some are easier to maintain than others, and some are more beautiful than others. New, lightweight, self-watering containers seem to have it all. So why do I keep using old stuff that I can't bear to throw away? I think it's because I've been able to use my well-worn containers to maximize the gardening potential of my small space. I couldn't have a garden at all if I didn't own a collection of pots. My collection includes containers that will hold any size plant. Here's how I put them to good use:

• Terra-cotta strawberry pots are filled with herbs.
  
• A mesa or Mayan planter (which is usually made of terra-cotta and has 11 separate openings) holds several different kinds of lettuce, salad herbs, and edible flowers, as well as a patio tomato in the large, main opening.
  
• Four terra-cotta pots of graduated sizes are stacked high, one inside the other, all planted with strawberries that spill over the sides.
  
• An old watering can holds thyme, rosemary, and baby basil.
  
• Plastic planting bags are a new type of container that can hang from a wall or fence and are easy to use.
  
• Window boxes are pretty and productive because I use them for flowers, culinary herbs, and even carrots.
  
• An old metal trash can may not be glamorous, but it's an excellent size for growing hearty tomato plants. You could also let vining plants spill over the sides to disguise it.
  

Basic Considerations
My favorite container is a deep plastic planter, about 24 inches in diameter, that's a light shade of terra-cotta. I love the color, and plastic doesn't dry out as quickly as clay. It's wide enough to hold plenty of soil for several plants and deep enough to sink tall bamboo poles into as plant supports.
As you work with containers, you'll decide for yourself which materials you like best. All types of contaienrs have their pros and cons, and I've outlined some of them in "Know Your Containers" on the opposite page.
Whatever type of container you select, make sure it has drainage holes in the bottom. If it doesn't, make some. (For most materials, you can use an electric drill to open drainage holes in the bottom of the ocntainer.) Good drainage is the difference between success and failure in a potted garden.

Planting Containers
Most potted plants that you buy at a garden center are planted in a "soilless mix" made from peat moss, perlite or vermiculite, and perhaps a little organic matter. Some have chemical fertilizers added right to the mix. Plus, these plants have likely been fed with liquid chemical fertilizer.
We want our container gardens to be all organic, just like our in-ground gardens are, so we need to create a root environment that will supply nutrients naturally. But using garden soil in containers isn't the answer, because natural soil tends to pack down in containers. Once the soil becomes compacted, it's difficult to water the plants because the water runs off the top of the contaienr or down the sides instead of being absorbed. The roots struggle to absorb air and water in the compacted soil and your plants may grow poorly.
The solution is to make lasagna layers in your containers! You won't use rough organic materials like straw or kitchen wastes, because the decomposition process won't happen readily in containers. Instead, the layers should be fine-textured materials, with a heavey emphasis on compost. It's fine to use a commercial potting mix as one ingredient, but shop around for one made with all-organic ingredients, or at least one without added chemical fertilizers. If you're not sure where to look for one locally, try ordering it froma garden supplier who specializes in organic products.
Compost not only supplies nutrients to your plants, it also adds disease-preventing microorganisms to the root environment. It's also okay to add a small amount of garden soil to a container, equal to about 10 percent of the container's volume. This can help icnrease the weight of a container for a tall tree or shrub, counterbalancing the the top so the container won't tip over in windy conditions.
With small pots, you don't need to bother making layers. Just put a coffee filter or paper towel in the bottom of the pot to cover the drainage holes, add some compost and some potting mix, and use a small stick or an old kitchen fork to gently stirm them together. Set the plant in place, top the container with a little more mix if needed, and that's it.
When you're planting a large container, there's a bit more to think about. Here's a step-by-step rundown for hassle-free planting.

1. Move the container to the spot where you want it to be - it's much easier to move a large container when it's empty than after you fill it up! I also like to set containers up on bricks to help ensure good drainage.
   
2. Place 1 or 2 sheets of wet newspaper in the bottom of the container to prevent materials from leaking out through the drainage holes.
   
3. Decide whether you need to fill the entire container with soil. If the container is very deep, chances are the plant roots own't penetrate all the way to the bottom. Save on materials by putting a base layer of lightweight filler in the bottom of the container. You can use empty cans turned upside down, or even foam peanuts. Put another layer of newspaper on top of the filler material.
   
4. Begin layering peat moss, potting mix, and compost in 1 to 2 inch layers in the container. You can also mix in some sand for plants that like very good drainage. I occasionally use thin layers of chopped leaves and grass clippings in my contaienrs, too, and my plants seem to like it.
   
5. When the container is nearly full, pull back the layers and set the palnts in place, as you would in a lasagna garden. Top with potting mix or compost if needed.
   
6. Water the container thoroughly and mulch the surface with grass clippings, chopped leaves, or shredded bark to help retain moisture and keep the roots cool.
   

I used to empty my large container gardens each fall and roll them to a new location in the spring - I thought the change was important. Those days are goen, and now I look at large containers as permanent garden sites. Each year I add additional layers, but I don't remove the layers from the previous year."

I didn't include the table on "Know Your Containers" because I don't know how to do that sort of thing with computers, hehe. Sorry. Here's the info she gives in my own weird way:

Type of container - Good Points - Drawbacks

• Cast iron - Beautiful and weather-resistant; retains moisture well - Heavy! Prone to rusting.
  
• Growing bags - Reusable; these hang from fences or walls so they don't take up any ground space. - Need frequent watering.
  
• Plastic, fiberglass - Lightweight, inexpensive, and weather resistant. - May blow over on windy days.
  
• Pottery - Beautiful and distinctive. - Fragile; not weather resistant.
  
• Terra-cotta - Beautiful; provides bottom weight to coutnerbalance tall plants. - Dries out quickly in hot weather; cracks if it freezes; heavy.
  
• Wire - Attractive; plants can be set between wires for lush effects. - Needs liner and frequent watering.
  
• Wood - Versatile; insulates roots in hot weather. - May rot.
  

She also gives this little tidbit:

" SUPERCHARGE A CONTAINER
Heavy feedesr such as tomatoes and peppers need a rich source of food to produce a good crop. So do fruit trees and bushes, because you'll harvest from them over several years. In the garden, their roots can spread to find food, and the soil's fertility is renewed as earthworms and microorganisms digest the mulch layers that you add each season. The system doesn't work quite that way in containers, so you may want to add some extra nutrients as you fill the containers. To make a special nutrient booster, mix 1 part bloodmeal with 1 part rock or colloidal phosphate and 1 part greensand. (You can buy these soil amendments at garden centers.) when you're filling containers with layers, sprinkle this mixture lightly on each layer. Use about 1 cup total for every 5 hallons of container volume."

Hope that helps!

posted October 08, 2004 02:43 PM         

over to my local nursery

posted February 29, 2008 07:13 PM         

Great thread btw

I intend to set aside a section of my own yard for just this purpose this year.
My kids will love it too!

Finally I'll have use for all that media rubbish, LOL!

Thank you