How To Make A Lasagna Garden

Grow

4 Mar

Written By

One of the first things I learned about gardening was to get the soil right from the beginning. Feed the soil and not the plants. Get the soil right in the beginning and you will have a successful garden for years to come. But what are lasagna gardens anyway and why should we make them? A lasagna garden is made up of several layers of various organic materials with each layer providing something different and beneficial to the overall soil. Let's find out below how to make a lasagna garden and why you should.

The first step is to collect your organic materials because to make a lasagna garden you need a lot!

When should I start?

The best time to start is in the cooler autumn months. The reason for this is the amount of brown/carbon materials that can be collected is much higher. This time of year also gives you much more time to prepare for the most productive growing seasons, spring and summer.

What materials can I use?

Pretty much any organic substance can be used including but not limited to:

Homemade or store-bought composts
Leaf mould
Worm castings
Dead leaves
Fresh grass clippings
Bokashi
Food scraps
Coffee grounds
Sticks and twigs
Cardboard and shredded newspaper
Straw and hay
Cow and poultry manure
And many other things

There are of course some things that you shouldn't put in, these include dairy, meats and raw and cooked bones, all of these things should be placed inside a bokashi bin instead. The finished bokashi can be placed into your lasagna garden. You should also avoid glossy magazines, materials with weed seeds, or any plant material that contains pests or diseases.

Where do I source my materials?

You can source most of, if not all of your materials for free. Let's start with some of the brown materials.

Cardboard boxes can be sourced from pretty much any business, supermarkets and furniture stores are great options.
Source free newspapers from newsagents, they will be more than happy to give you yesterday's papers. Many community newspapers are also free.
Dead brown leaves can be found in your backyards, street gutters or at local parks, especially in autumn.
Collect small sticks and twigs from public parks or pretty much anywhere there are trees.

Green materials

Ask around at local cafes for coffee grounds
Save your kitchen scraps as you would for a worm farm or compost and add them
Prune your trees and use the trimmings as a green layer.
Mow your grass if you have any and add this. If you're like me and don't have a lawn just ask your neighbour, friend or family member to save some for you.

Soils and composts

Worm castings from your home worm farm are excellent. I also recommend adding some worms from your worm farm into the lasagne garden.
Free homemade compost can be made in even the smallest of spaces using the same green and brown materials listed above
Leaf mould is easily made at home for free in a cage or black plastic bag with fallen autumn leaves and water
Old potting mixes from your potted plants can also be added

If you want to know more about composting then check out these other great articles:

The benefits of a lasagna garden

In a lasagna garden all the different things that have been added break down over time creating rich and healthy soil. The various mediums all bring different micro-organisms, bacteria, and fungi. It also aids in attracting beneficial creatures like worms that help to aerate and create bio-diverse soil.

Another benefit of a lasagna garden is the various layers will help improve water retention, meaning you will need to water your garden less regularly. There will also be less need for fertilisers due to the nutrient-rich compost created by everything working together and breaking down over time.

Making a lasagna garden

Firstly it is important to choose your site and make a barrier. Once you have your position start with a brown layer using sheets of plain cardboard, free of sticky tape, labels, and staples. Alternatively, line the bottom of the bed with a thick layer of newspaper. The first layer is very important because this will smother any grass and prevent weeds from making their way up and taking over your garden. Once this layer is in water it lightly.

The next step is to add in any sticks and twigs, these things will take the longest to break down. After you have added this layer it is time to start piling everything else on in any order you wish, there is no right or wrong way of doing it as long as the very top layer is a good quality compost. Water each layer in lightly as this will encourage the beneficial organisms to start doing what they do best. It is recommended that, just like making compost, you add slightly more brown materials than green.

Your lasagna garden should resemble something like this terrible picture I drew. I want to stress you don't need every single thing listed here, use what you have and substitute things like green leaves with food scraps, bokashi, or lawn clippings, or any brown material with another brown material. There is no right or wrong, anything organic will break down and can be used.

How many layers do I need?

There is no minimum or maximum number of layers needed, however the more layers you have the better your soil will be. In a lasagna garden, it is also important to keep adding layers throughout the year. Your soil will reduce over time so it is important to keep topping up with extra layers of brown and green materials.

When can I start planting?

Depending on what organic matter you place in your garden will determine when you can start planting. If you add any manures it is best to let them rot down further for a few weeks or even months before you start sowing. Fresh manure can be too strong and kill your plants. If you place already aged manure in your garden bed it should be fine to start planting into it straight away.

If you aren't ready to start growing then it could be beneficial to wait until Spring. During the winter months, you can continue to add more and more layers as the bed shrinks. Adding the extra layers will only benefit the structure of the soil and your future plants. You could also grow cover crops and green manures and turn them back into the soil before planting out your spring crops. Again this adds more nutrients back into your soil and benefits your next lot of crops.