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Lasagna gardening-square foot combo?
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Posted by clibanarius z8GA (My Page) on Mon, May 2, 05 at 15:21
| I've been doing some modified, raised bed, square foot gardening for about a year (pretty darn modified, actually, but that's another story!) This year, my wife got me a book called lasagna gardening, which I can't quite believe works as well as the author claims. If you don't know the idea, you basically add "soily stuff" in layers without mixing them together: newspaper, peat, leaves, compost, more peat, grass clippings, leaves, etc. If it does actually work, it seems a natural companion for square foot gardening. Has anyone out there had any experience with "lasagna gardening? |
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RE: Lasagna gardening-square foot combo?
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| Well I am trying exactly that, however it is my first year so I have no feedback for you yet. I made my traditional garden (about 23X7) into a lasagna bed last fall. I am not sure I got it exactly right (my layers might have need too thick and not enough of them) and I didn't finish it until this spring. I read about SFG this winter/spring so I modified my plans. I now have separated my traditional garden into 4X3 and 4X2 sections and then into the one foot squares. I put paths in between. So far my seeds that were direct sowed are growing, so atleast it does work for plants with shallow roots. I think the bigger test will be when my tomatoes and peppers go in. I would love to hear others experiences/ thoughts too. |
RE: Lasagna gardening-square foot combo?
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| I've had my lasagna gardens for about 3 years now, and I love them. They are so easy to work, no back breaking digging. The soil is beautiful, dark rich and easy to work with. Each year I add compost and maybe a bag of triple mix. After things have sprouted, I top with grass clippings to keep the moisture in and also to add compost. This year I am also using one of my lasagna gardens as a square foot garden. See pic of it. Just planted it today with cool weather vegies. Laurel 
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RE: Lasagna gardening-square foot combo?
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| To me, Lasagne is just a catchy term for cold composting in place. I actually prefer hot composting, which eliminates undesirable things like weed seeds. Also, I have the chance to distribute kitchen goodies and other diverse ingredients throughout the pile. The modern squarefoot method of pouring a couple of ingredients into a raised bed is easier than fussing with "sandwich ingredients" or layer thickness. Last time I built a raised bed, I just scattered the compost, manure, coir/peat, and vermiculite (now I'd use expanded shale). Leveling the surface with a rake mixed it up enough to plant a very successful winter garden. I guess it's kinda pitiful when you're too lazy to lasagne, but hey! I have a recumbent bike when I want to exercise. ;-D |
RE: Lasagna gardening-square foot combo?
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| I started my beds with lasanga methods. DH build 8"X 4' X8' beds I just put them on the grass and started with a layer of newspaper. I think that the next layer was kitchen waste and then lots of leaves and so on. I wanted to plant that year so my top layers were the most soil like stuff that I had on hand. I did not fill the beds to the top that year but left a couple or three inches all round. I then laied out a grid for square foot garden and planted most things about a month after I laided out the whole thing. I think that I started some seeds on that day. That was 5 year ago and now with the addition of my own compost each year my soil is deep and soft and if I wasn't so crazy about tomatoes I could grow foot long carrots everywhere. I got a small tiller this year to use at the community garden and I decided to use it in my beds at home on a whim, well it was just silly. The soil was so soft that the tiller just didn't have anything to do really. Deep rooted plants(like my tomatoes when I plant em deep) my struggle at first but if you plant them with the roots to the side then the bottoms of the beds will be broken down by the time that the roots get there. I must add that every thing that I added was pretty small and spread out. For example my leaves were shredded and I used a lot of coffee grounds (there are 6 starbucks within a few miles of here). I did not use as much cardboard as the book recommeded and I think that is what the Lasagna Gardening author says in her second book. Tracy |
RE: Lasagna gardening-square foot combo?
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| This is my first year doing SFG as well as Lasagna gardening. My husband built a frame for me to have a SFG and then I just filled it Lasagna style. I had black plastic over it for a month or so to try to "cook" it. Then I took off the plastic because I needed to plant my seedlings. Even though the lasagna wasn't "cooked" much my plants have done really well! The mix that is recommended in the SFG book was just too hard to find and too expensive for me. I'm all about gardening in a thrifty way. I would definately do the Lasagna gardening again! I love it! |
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