Lasagna Gardening

This year Zach and I decided to make our lives a little easier

by making garden boxes. 

It was Zach who recommended higher boxes for less bending.

Don't tell him, but boy, was he RIGHT! 

Gardening, weeding, planting, it is all so much easier!

While researching what to put into the boxes,

I found a site explaining just what I needed...

Lasagna Gardening.

Basically, it's layering certain materials

so that they break down into nutrient rich soil,

 otherwise referred to as sheet composting.

Here's my tutorial on how to lasagna garden:

 First we started with our garden boxes

 that we lined with black plastic to help retain the moisture.



 We put in wire bracing to help support

the weight of the materials going into the boxes.

We put in a layer of soil with clay on the bottoms of the boxes

 before we got to the lasagna part of the gardening.

 Start your garden with three sheets thick of newspaper, moistened.

 Once moistened, cover with peat moss, compost, or manure, then start layering.

Alternate layers of "brown"(carbon-rich) materials with

 "green"(nitrogen-rich) materials. 

 The ratio should be around 2 to1, brown to green materials. 

Here are some ideas for the Brown Materials:

-Shredded paper or newspaper

-Pine needles

-Straw

-Peat moss

-Fall leaves

Here are some examples for the green materials:

-Fruit and Vegetable scraps

-Grass clippings

-Coffee grounds and tea bags

-Seaweed

-Trimmings from the garden and weeds that haven't gone to seed

If you are planting right away, be sure to add several layers of compost or peat moss.

I added compost to the top layer before planting.

Note: Once layered the garden will settle a few inches over the first couple of weeks

My potato box, I layered a little less to allow room for straw. 

This year I'm trying a new technique(new for me anyway)

 for planting potatoes that involves just covering with straw.

As you see, I put my last layer of compost down,

 then I put my potatoes on top,

then covered with 6 inches of straw on top of that.

Once the potato plant comes through about 3-4 inches,

 cover with an additional straw until plants are almost covered.

Continue this process until there is about a foot of straw on top.

Once the plant dies,

peel the layer of straw off and grab all of your potatoes...with no digging!

My plants are thriving better than any other year so I'm very optimistic for my new methods.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Happy Gardening:)