help needed for newbie at lasagna bed

not sure if this is the right place to post this but I'll try.
I decided to build a small bed this year and I just have a couple of questions that I know of and probably many that I haven't even thought of. So far I have a layer of coffee grounds followed by a layer of pears followed by a layer of mulched leaves. My questions are what am I missing in my mix?
Can I still add more coffee on top of the leaves?
I have access to horse manure should I add that?
Am I suppose to mix it or wait till spring?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Sandy

Hi, Sandy! First I need to answer questions with questions. Are you basically following the methods developed by Pat Lanza? I have her book, Lasagna Gardening. I tried a bed two seasons ago without much success. I need to try again to figure out where the plan went offcourse. The most obvious problem was the newpaper layers. They seemed to impede the growth of everything but weeds. Is the spot you have chosen a new bed on unworked soil or has it been cultivated at all? Have you had a soil test to know the PH levels? Some kitchen wastes are acidic, though it would take a hefty amount to change the basic structure much. Horse manure is good, although if it is fresh, it generates a lot of heat. French market gardeners in the late 1800's buried it at the base of their cold frames to produce speciality vegetables in cold weather for sale in Paris stalls. The mix of layers can vary a good deal; we just use what we have. Some grass clippings or a little straw would be good, but don't worry if you don't have it. As for when to mix, the opinions are varied, but generally, if the spot has not been worked before, the trend is to let the stuff mellow in place and mix in early spring. If you have the space, time and energy, you might experiment with a second bed, mixing one now and the other later, just to see what works best for your area. Please keep us posted on how this turns out. Yuska

Yuska I only wish I had thought far enough ahead to follow a method but unfortunatly no I am just flying by the seat of my pants.. I have picked up information here and there and modifying it a little to fit my time and energy levels. Where my bed is was garden area 15years ago but is now mostly mowed weeds, ok some grass but only by chance. I started all this because we put in a flagstone patio and firepit and planted a fairly mature tree that needed a hugh hole dug and we needed someplace to put the dirt that was removed. I did put down a thick (10-12 sheets of newspaper then piled the dirt/clay on top so I do have some soil to start with that I kept weeded this summer hoping it would help cut down on them next year but I noticed it was very hard and hardly any worms found anywhere so I decided to try to improve the soil by building a lasagna type bed on top. On the of dirt is a layer of coffee grounds, then when the pear trees all decided to have a big year I spread several wheelbarrow loads on top of the grounds then of course came fall so the next layer became mulched leaves. but I was/am not sure how to get it to "cook down" the information you gave about the manure helps maybe this will be the heat I need. I had also thought about covering it with a dark tarp for the winter. Wondering if that would help or hurt. Thank you for your help I will let you know what happens.
Sandy

Sandy, from your description I believe you would do well to let the stack sit overwinter and mix it in the spring. Definitely add the horse manure, and if possible any straw bedding the animals may have used. The tarp would pull in heat for the stack on sunny days, but the newspaper will need the snow & rain action to decompose, so I'd leave the tarp off. The winter moisture action might cause some nutrients to leach but they won't be lost if the ground is level. With a newspaper layer 10-12 sheets thick you should be okay, but really thick layers of newspapers under soil with little oxygen present take a long time to decompose; there have been times when stacks of papers were uncovered in landfills that had datelines still readable after 15+ years! It would be fine to use newspaper as a permanent barrier at the base of a bed if the depth of the lasagna mix is at least 18 inches for root growth. That depth would be hard to maintain without raised sides, but if you have the sides you'll like the ease of tending the bed. Yuska

In the lasagna book she talks about "cooking" the lasagna bed by covering it with black plastic, it supposedly speeds up the decomposition of the layers enormously. I wonder if you would get enough heat in zone 5 in winter to be worth the effort? If I remember she made sure it was good and moist before covering it up.
Natasha

I built my first lasagna bed last year. I alternated the brown (cotton burr mulch, free mulch from the county, leaves) and green layers (grass clipping, manure). I did put a layer of spagnum peat moss between each brown and green layer. I was concerned that the bed didn't get hot while my compost pile did. I even put black plastic over it. But by spring I wanted to plant. My petunias and zinnias and vincas were gorgeous. I planted some zinnias in two different beds and I could really see the advantage of the lasagna method. Next spring I'm going to plant a rose bush in the middle of the garden.

I've since started a new bed and I'm leaving off the peat moss because it is too expensive. I'm using just things I have or can get, mostly free (my motto is free or cheap, preferably free!).

Thank you for all your help. I added some horse manure to it this weekend a friend of mine has alot of left over pumpkins I think I will smash up a bit and put on next then one more layer of leaves will be about all I have time for before winter sets in I had to scrape the frost off my windows already this morning.

I guess I won't turn it until spring, this was my first instinct then I started second guessing myself I should never do that.

Barbur your flowers are gorgeous. This bed will be new for me all the way around. It is way back at the end of the yard so I am going for all over size tall flowers thinking back row of sunflowers with morning glories, Then black eyed susans phlox shasta daiseys then ??? not sure how to bring it down another notch in the front any suggestions there??

Natasha, you raised a good point about the black plastic cover. Sandy's climate won't likely generate much winter heat with or without a cover. I was skimming through Pat's book last night and didn't find a definitive answer. Clearly, I need to reread the whole thing - it's been a couple of years and I had completely lost track of one very important principle. Sandy, forget the mixing!! The whole idea of "lasagna" is just that - working through layers. Barbur, I agree with you about the peat moss. One reason it is so expensive is that it has been over-harvested and thus is relatively scarce. Peat moss forms very slowly in bogs, and the demand for it has really stripped many areas. I have started using coir (ground coconut husk) instead in the seed starting medium that I mix. It's not exactly cheap, either, but it absorbs water readily and is giving very good results. I've had no problems with damping off, for example.
Sandy, you might want to check Pat's book out from the library - it has many good tips in other areas of gardening, too. Meanwhile, you're on the right track with your layers. As for plants for the lower notch - maybe violas - specifically, johny-jump-ups? And for the very front as an edging what about a row of curly parsley? Bright green outline and you can snip from it for the kitchen.
Thanks for bringing this up, Sandy. And for the excellent information, Natasha and Barbur. Much food for thought. I'll probably write again after I've reread the book. Yuska