ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot

I have been inspired to try a new method of growing food called “Lasagna Gardening.” This method has been tried and found true by gardener Patricia Lanza, who has written a book about it. It sounds too good to be true – a method that produces prolific harvests in no time, requires no digging or tilling, no sod removal or weeding, recycles free organic materials, feeds plants as they grow and even cuts down on watering!

It supports the theory that the secret to success is growing the soil before growing the food.
It starts from the ground up, building layers of different organic materials to create a bed, just like making a lasagna.

No digging is required, so there’s no excuse not to grow some healthy food this year! Initially you need to wheelbarrow loads of materials to build the bed, but after that additional layers can go on as they become available. This way the garden is always being fed with soil building amendments. Your role to begin is simply to stockpile ingredients to build the garden, using anything that is uncontaminated and biodegradable. It’s up to you whether you contain the garden with boards/rocks or not.

Eleven or more hours of sunlight is perfect for most food plants. Seven hours is possible for cool-weather plants, but less than four is impossible. It works even if there is a lawn in place. If so, start by cutting the grass as short as possible. Ideally the finished bed should be approximately 30 centimetres in height. Simply follow these guidelines:

• Decide on where the garden is to go and add dolomite lime to the area to neutralize the pH.
• Add a layer of animal manure, which can be fresh, for a heavy nitrogen kick.
• Lay sections of newspaper or layers of plain cardboard (not coloured) over the entire area so that the edges overlap.
• Add a thick layer of coir (coconut peat), a good moisture retentive substitute for peat, or leaf mulch if available.
• Add a layer of ready compost or garden soil. Adding a dusting of granular organic fertilizer as you build the layers is also an option.
• Add a layer of grass clippings or spoiled hay.
• Add another layer of coir/leaf mulch.
• Finish with a good layer of compost or garden soil for planting in.

You are now ready to plant. You can direct seed if the weather is obliging or transplant directly into the top layer of the bed. The high fertility of the growing medium means it’s possible to plant in close rows or blocks so that overlapping leaves keep weeds at bay and lock moisture in around the roots.

Layers of organic matter will constantly be breaking down, releasing nutrients to plants as they need them. This means fewer problems with pests and diseases that attack plants grown in poorer soils. Organic matter also locks in moisture, which means you can cut back on watering. If weeds appear, simply add another layer of mulch to smother them.

Happy Lasagna Gardening!

Carolyn Herriot is author of A Year on the Garden Path, which talks you through growing food year-round and seed saving. www.earthfuture.com/gardenpath/ 
Check out the weekly progress of The New Victory Garden in Victoria by following Carolyn's blog on www.gardenwise.ca