Skip the Shovel with Lasagna Style Gardening

Forget spending long weekends toiling away in the garden. With lasagna style gardening, you can skip the shovel and create lush, productive gardens with a fraction of the effort.

The lasagna gardening method, also known as sheet composting or sheet mulching, is a no-dig approach to gardening that layers cardboard, yard waste, kitchen scraps and other organic materials to make nutrient-rich soil.

How Lasagna Gardening Works

Lasagna gardening works by building up layers of nitrogen and carbon-rich materials that compost in place. The alternating layers of "green" nitrogen materials like grass clippings and food waste, and "brown" carbon-rich layers like leaves or shredded newspaper, creates the perfect conditions for beneficial microbes and worms to turn your materials into finished compost and humus-rich soil.

As the layers decompose, they kill underlying weeds and grass by blocking out sunlight. The decomposing materials also hold in moisture and nutrients to establish an ideal growing environment for your vegetables and flowers.

The Microbial Magic

The secret to lasagna gardening lies underground where billions of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms are busy digesting the layered organic matter. These beneficial microbes need the right balance of carbon and nitrogen-rich materials to thrive and do their work.

Kitchen scraps like fruit and vegetable peelings provide an excellent source of nitrogen to feed microbes, while materials like dry leaves and shredded newspapers supply essential carbon. By correctly balancing and layering these elements, you create the perfect conditions for your microbial workforce to decompose layers into dark, crumbly, nutrient-loaded gardening soil.

Built-In Weed Control

Lasagna gardening also eliminates the need for backbreaking weeding. The layers of cardboard and newspaper act as a physical barrier to block sunlight from reaching any underlying weed seeds and grass. Deprived of light, those pesky weeds never get the chance to sprout and grow.

The gradual decomposition of layers also slowly releases plant-available nutrients right into the root zone of your vegetables as they grow. This steady nutrition supply eliminates the need to dig in fertilizers or compost. Your plants get fed from below through the ongoing decomposition process.

Building the Perfect Lasagna Garden

While lasagna gardening takes a season or more to establish a rich growing bed, the initial construction is simple. You'll just need a few basic materials along with yard and kitchen waste you likely already have on hand.

Assembling the Layers

Start by laying corrugated cardboard or several sheets of overlapped newspaper to smother grass or weeds and create your bottom layer. Top this carbon base with 2 to 4 inches of high-nitrogen "green" material like freshly mowed grass clippings, coffee grounds, unfinished compost or manure. Follow with a 2-4 inch layer of carbon-rich "browns" like dry leaves, straw or woodchips.

Repeat the layers until your lasagna garden bed is at least 12 inches high. Remember to alternate green and brown layers, and thoroughly wet each layer as you build. Top off your lasagna garden with a final 2-4 inch layer of shredded leaves, straw or other light material to retain moisture and insulate the pile.

Planting Your Lasagna Garden

You can start planting directly into your lasagna garden right away, or let it sit for up to 12 months so materials fully break down. For spring planting, prep your lasagna bed the prior autumn. For fall plantings, build your bed in early summer.

Dig access holes through layers to transplant seedlings or sow seeds. Scatter a thin layer of compost or peat moss around plantings to prevent them from direct contact with unfinished compost underneath. Fully finished lasagna garden soil is too rich for direct seeding.

Maintaining Your Lasagna Garden

Lasagna gardening leads to fertile, weed-free soil with little yearly maintenance needed. Monitor new plantings and dig in a light dose of organic fertilizer like bone or blood meal if plants show signs of nutrient deficiencies. Replenish mulch as the growing season progresses.

By fall, your layers will have settled and your lasagna soil will be on its way to full decomposition. Simply add another thick topping layer and enrich with nitrogen materials like manure. You'll enjoy improved soil structure and plant health each consecutive year.

A No Dig Approach with Lasting Benefits

While the initial construction requires an investment of materials and labor, lasagna gardening yields reduced maintenance and improved soil health for many seasons to come. The layered no-dig approach helps improve soil structure, drainage and water retention as organic materials fully decompose.

Your lasagna garden beds will boast fewer weeds, retain nutrients better and support vigorous growth with less supplemental fertilizer needed. Plants grown in the rich, loose and crumbly soil will develop stronger root systems and become less susceptible to pests and diseases.

Plus, you'll save hours of time otherwise spent tilling, digging and fighting weeds each season. Your garden will practically maintain itself!

Lasagna gardening takes the work out of creating healthy, fertile garden beds. By layering yard waste, kitchen scraps and other composting materials, you can enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your no-dig labor for seasons to come.

So grab a shovelful of materials, forego the back-breaking tilling and try lasagna gardening this season. Your soil and plants will thank you for it!