Lasagna Gardening Basics and Techniques for the Home Gardener

Lasagna gardening is a fool proof way to garden. I am not talking about growing veggies for lasagna either. I am talking about a no dig method of gardening. This article will outline the basic techniques of lasagna gardening and how to apply them in your own home garden.

Grasping the concept of lasagna gardening is a no brainer. Just think about how you make lasagna and that is exactly what you are going to do in the garden. By creating layers and then letting them decompose you will be creating the best soil on the block and will be the envy of all of your family and friends!

First you will want to choose your garden space. Big or small the size is up to you. You are going to need to get a hold of some cardboard and newspapers next. Lay these down. Cardboard first. Then about 3 layers of newspapers. Next you will add layers of green and brown matter. You can use any type of organic matter that you choose.

Some ideas on lasagna gardening ingredients are;

Compost
Kitchen Scraps (anything but meat)
Leaves
Grass clippings
Manure
Peat Moss (great for retaining moisture in dry areas)
Tree trimmings

You will want to remember to layer the matter in green or brown. For example use grass clippings then compost then tree trimmings then leaves.

After you have your layers together you are going to let this sit for at least 6-8 weeks or longer. This is a wonderful thing to do in the fall to prepare garden beds for spring planting. Best of all it's so easy! All you have to do is make layers then let the snow and rain do the rest of the work! If you want to use this technique in the spring or the summer you might want to speed it along by using layers of finished compost. This will help everything break down quicker.

When you are ready to plant just start planting. No digging or turning is needed whatsoever! You will want to add a layer of mulch on top after your gardening is established.

The advantages of using lasagna gardening techniques is your garden will retain moisture better than traditional methods. Also you will have less weeds. Also, because your garden is the greenest around using this method you will barely need to use fertilizer. Oh and did I mention no digging?