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thetradition

Lasagna Garden - done or more layers?

thetradition
10 years ago

The site gets nearly full sun no matter what time of year. There was a natural depression on this site, including the root system of a tree that was cut down before I bought the property. So, I figured this would be a way to "fill in" the depression and make a bed without having to dig up tree roots.

I filled the depression with lake muck until it was level (that took six or seven 5 gallon buckets).

Then I covered the goop with a 5'X5' piece of corrugated cardboard.

On top of that I piled chopped up cat tail stalks and other miscellaneous weeds and stuff from the lakeshore.

Then I added a thick layer of partially-finished compost.

Then I added two bags of top soil.

Then I threw a bag of Black Kow on top of that.

Finally, I dusted the whole thing with a pound of Azomite.

Is that enough or should I make more layers before I cover it with black plastic for the summer?

I plan to put sweet corn here in the Fall.

Thoughts?

This post was edited by TheTradition on Tue, Jun 4, 13 at 11:27

Comments (5)

  • foreverlad
    10 years ago

    Tradition,

    Sounds like you've put a lot of effort (and quality) into your bed. It looks great. If it's going to get covered up for the summer, I'd say you could probably add a few more layers, as it's all going to break down and compact over the next 3 months.

    I'm sure it'd be fine if you called it quits now, but if it's going to be locked down for a few months, you may as well toss in as many additional scraps, clippings, etc as possible. It can only extend the life of the bed and provide more fuel for the (microbial) fire.

  • whgille
    10 years ago

    The Tradition, you have a nice bed to start with but if it was my bed, I would add more layers, corn likes a lot of nitrogen so I would add some of the cottonseed or soybean meal. I would also try to use a pitchfork around the soil to loosen a little bit, I tell you this because in the community garden they put raised beds without loosen any soil and put about 6 inches of compost, for the small crops works great but not for bigger crops like tomatoes, they don't grow like they are supposed to. And corn is also a big crop that grows strong roots, I had a very successful crop when I grew corn in one of my raised beds one season...

    {{gwi:61360}}

    Silvia

  • SusieQsie_Fla
    10 years ago

    Jack
    I was thinking that your 5x5 space is
    just a wee bit too small for a patch of corn -
    doesn't it need to be spread out more?

    But thanks to Silvia for that geat picture!
    Silvia, is that a 3 Sisters-type Garden? How many seeds did you
    plant in there and how much space did you use?

    One last question- after the new plot has "cured", what date will you plant the seeds?

    Thanks for the education!

    Susie

  • thetradition
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here's a shot of my corn from Spring. I did everything "wrong"... straight line instead of planted in a block, shady site, last-minute soil amendments, overhead watering... and yet they are still producing very nice ears (even though they're on the small side).

    Square-foot gardeners put one plant per each square foot. So, you could have 25 plants in a 5x5 area, probably much more than my family needs.

    Traditionally (depending on variety) you might space 8 inches apart in row, with 2-3 feet between rows, and a minimum of four rows in a block. I would not be able to fit four rows in this area using that spacing.

    My hope is that the extra-fertile soil of the lasagna garden (I also plan to incorporate plenty of 10-10-10 at planting and sidedressing periodically) will allow for success using the Square-Foot gardening spacing.

    This post was edited by TheTradition on Tue, Jun 4, 13 at 19:11

  • whgille
    10 years ago

    Thank you Susie, remember my raised beds by the windows? they are 4x8, I don't wait for the beds to cure, the heavy layers go in the bottom and just light layers like black cow, peat moss, compost go on top. The next season for us would be around August-September. I don't remember how many seeds I had, but not all the seeds germinate so I probably planted them 6 inches apart, after the corn reach some size, pole beans and winter squash was planted. I had 3 kinds of corn, purple, red and a large kernel variety.

    {{gwi:23141}}

    {{gwi:61361}}

    Silvia