Spray water on the layers as you go, since the composting process needs moisture as well as nitrogen and carbon. On top of the newspaper or cardboard spread a layer of high nitrogen ('green' lawn cuttings, prunings, vegetable scraps from your kitchen, used coffee grounds, chicken manure, or high nitrogen fertilizer).įollow that with a layer of high carbon ('brown' leaves, shredded paper, dead vegetation like Tricia's cornstalks). Raised-beds-on-asphalt gardeners, this is where you join us. To kill the vegetation, block its access to sunlight with layers of newspapers or cardboard. Pull any persistent weeds like bindweed, blackberries or morning glory that might reach up to enjoy the compost in your new bed. If you're placing a raised bed on cement or asphalt you can skip these steps.Ĭut down vegetation on your lasagna site. How to make a lasagna gardening bed PREPARE THE LASAGNA 'PAN' All the raised beds in the video can go with you too, if you move. We have a video that shows you how to do that with NO TOOLS or just a hammer. Ready to build some raised beds this spring? Lasagna gardening is ideal in raised beds too. Take a look at our composting video to review the magic of how brown and green waste turn into compost. It's really a slow compost pile in one regular shaped area. In our video Tricia starts a lasagna gardening bed on part of her lawn. Lasagna gardening is a boon for the lazy but patient gardener You choose the 'pan' (a raised bed or a piece of ground), add layers of brown and green, then top with a compost cover and let the soil microorganisms do the 'cooking'! You'll have to wait longer than an hour for the lasagna bed-it could take up to a year-but when it's ready you can plant right into a bed full of fluffy compost that your seeds and seedlings will find delicious. Lasagna gardening is just as wonderful as it sounds

Lasagna Gardening by Jane D. Ramsey