I’ve decided to turn up the potato patch and make the area into a lasagna garden this fall.  Then, next spring, I think I’ll plant the pumpkin patch there.  I mean, really, it’s crop rotation at its finest.

A lasagna garden is basically layering organic materials {like making a lasagna} to create a rich, no till space later on down the road.  I’ve heard a lot of organic farmers say they don’t grow vegetables, but instead, they grow healthy dirt.  I’ve always liked that—so this winter, I am going to grow me some healthy dirt.

To start a lasagna garden, you basically need no preparation.  You literally do not need to weed or dig down.

If you are starting with sod, you don’t need to dig it up.  Your first layer of your lasagna garden is either corrugated cardboard or 3 layers of newspaper {whatever you have more readily on hand}.  This first layer will suffocate grass and weeds, hence the need to do nothing to prepare the garden.  After you have laid the first layer of the garden down, wet it thoroughly to begin the breakdown process.

Now comes the really fun part:  the next layers are literally everything you would put into your compost pile.  Grass clippings, food stuffs, newspaper, leaves from the city park, junk mail {avoid any envelopes with little plastic viewing windows, though}, The only rule you really want to follow here is alternating layers of browns and greens–one layer of dried leaves, next layer food stuffs or grass clippings.

Each time you make a layer, water it down.  Repeat the process until your “lasagna” is about 2 feet high.  It will break down fairly quickly—so you can assure your neighbors you are not giving up on social norms and just tossing your trash out back.

By spring, you should have an amazing patch of dirt that is already loose and prepared to grow an awesome crop.

Have you ever done a lasagna garden before?  Did it leave you with awesome dirt?

~Mavis

For more lasagna gardening tips and tricks check out Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!