Lasagna Gardening: The Easy, No-Till Way to Great Garden Beds

Posted by Cathy England
August 20th, 2009
Filed in Garden Design
Tags: composting, lasagna gardening

There are many tools in the organic gardeners bag, but no matter how dedicated, organic gardening is often more difficult and time consuming than conventional gardening.  Lasagna gardening is a great way to make organic gardening less taxing.  It is especially recommended for those with physical limitations, or the elderly.  It is basically a method of sheet composting that if constructed in the fall will provide beautiful garden soil in the spring.

So, why not rototill or use a double digging method?  Rototilling definitely breaks up the soil, but it is labor intensive, and increases the chances of killing many of the worms in the soil.  Worms are a friend in the garden, and killing them off is a bit counterproductive.

The method of double digging is almost impossible in heavy clay soils.  Most clay soils will allow digging to a depth of a few inches, but farther down it becomes almost impossible.  Not to mention the fact that it is brutal work.

Benefits of Lasagna Gardening

• This is an easy way to use available organic materials to best benefit.  If laid down in the fall, worms will do a lot of work to loosen the soil below the bed, and to mix the layers so that beautiful humus type soil is produced.
• Cuts down on the need for weeding.  Many weeds are suppressed below the layers of organic matter.  Additionally, because the soil is so loose, weed removal is much easier.
• Beds are made narrow, but can be more heavily planted due to the natural production of nutrients in the soil.
• Because beds are able to be reached into on both sides, there is no worry of walking through rows, and compacting roots beneath.

Steps to Building a Great Lasagna Bed

• Find the right location for what you want to grow.  No matter how great the construction of your bed, it cannot make up for sun needed for plants, so carefully plan what you will plant, and where you will place the beds.
• Start saving newspapers and cardboard.  This will be the first layer of your new bed.  Wet these materials down and place directly on the sod.  Over the months, this will help to kill the grass, and earthworms should help to breakdown the paper or cardboard.  If using newspaper, be careful of colored inks which can carry heavy metals; also, use thick sections of paper about six to eight layers thick.
• Purchase bags of organic topsoil, peat moss, composted manure, or mushroom compost.  Use materials from your own compost piles or find a source for well rotted manure. When mowing your lawn in the fall, mow grass and leaves together into a bagger.  This makes a great layer in the garden.  Take care with using pine needles as they are very acidic, and can make the soil to acidic to plant (but a little is okay.)
• After gathering your materials, begin layers 4-6 inch layers of each until the bed is about two feet deep.  This will break down over the months between fall and spring, and will be about 6-8 inches deep at the end.  You can continue to add layers of mulch throughout the year.
• A black tarp can be placed over the bed to capture the heat, and speed up the process of “cooking” the bed.
• In the spring, you should have fertile, humus soil to start your plants in when the dangers of frost have passed.

Lasagna gardening is a method that once established can just be added to throughout the season, or over the years.  The bed acts as a natural mulching system that keeps moisture in.  Plants can be placed closer together as rows are not needed, which will help to maximize space in the small garden.  This method can be employed on established beds that have already been dug.  In this case, the paper layer may not be necessary.  It also works very well in raised beds, or can be closed in with boards and bricks to create the look of a raised bed.  The layers are above the soil, which improves drainage as well.

In general, lasagna gardening has many advantages.  You can start one in the spring and begin planting immediately, however, starting the method in the fall seems to be more effective.

There is also a famous book devoted to Lasagna Gardening. You can purchase it through Amazon.