Lasagna Bed and Leaves???

I am planning on making a few Lasagna beds this Spring, my dad gave me several large bags full of Leaves, I know the layering for a lasagna bed calls for news papers (or card board) I have several ppl saving them for me and top soil (garden soil) and mulch....

I was wonder how long it takes for leafs to break down??? I have tried to get dh to help me start a compost pile, but he refuses, and I can not do that on my own..
So I thought I would (in the Spring) use the leafs (soak them down really good) as the bottom layer and place them in the shape I want my bed, then put the wet news paper down, then the top soil, plant my plants and then mulch... (can leafs be used in place of news papers??? - just a thought)

I know leafs will kill grass, cause last year my neighbors had several piles in their front yard and this past spring the ground was bare when they removed the dead leafs.. So do you all think this will work?
I raked our leafs in a pile where one of the beds will be going and covered with tarps to keep them from blowing away :o) But I don't have enough tarps or plastic to cover all the areas I will be doing, So will have to do it in the Spring...

Connie

You can mow the leaves to make them break down faster. I don't know about lasagna beds, though. You might look at some threads in the Soil and Composting forum about that. Any way you can add organic material will help, sooner or later

That would mean spreading them out again, cause they are in heaps... I was doing good just to rack them up :o) and when dh mows them in the yard it mulches them up really fine, can't rake them then :(

So I really don't know what else to do...

I rake mine after I mow them, use a garden rake then a leaf rake. Or not.
The whole idea with the lasagna beds is piling organic material on top of soil- the paper or cardboard, leaves, mulch, whatever else is used- it winds up like a compost pile in place. Even just leaving a pile of leaves over winter is composting, just a more passive way of doing it. It doesn't HAVE to be turned, but it helps speed it up, that's all.

I don't know the procedure in lasagna beds, but if you mow those leaves they'll be MUCH smaller piles, easier to deal with, to me anyway. I just mow and rake 'em on to my favorite 89 cent tarp and drag 'em wherever they need to go.

If you round up all the leaves and any leftover lawn clippings and kitchen scraps, rotten pumpkins, anything along those lines NOW, by spring you'll have an ideal place for all your seedlings! Wether you have an actual 'compost pile' or are making lasagna beds, the ingredients are about the same, organic materials.

oh okay, I wasn't sure, it's been a while since I visited the compost forum, (hangs head in shame) Oh the things we learn here on DG :o)

Thanks so much Pa, I think I can handle that... Well I will give it a try anyway :o)

Connie

I think you'll speed up the decay of the leaves even by piling papers and mulch on top; the earthworms love 'em! I've been experimenting with different levels of layering and lasanga gardening, and everything I've tried has worked pretty well, sounds to me like your plan will work. Good luck,
Neal

You don't even need the newspapers actually. What you do need is a good mix of materials that won't blow away and won't dry out over winter. IF you have heavy snowcover, that will probably do it. Here I layer manure and leaves with the top layer of shredded shrubbery to hold it down.

Overwintering will allow the leaves & such to break down into plantable dirt. You could wait until spring, but why wait, esp if you will have completed mulch layers when you are ready?

You guys are sooo great, thanks greenjay and neal, and Claypa you are a dear :)

I have started saving my coffee grounds and dh told me to throw the used filters away cause they won't deteriorate but I just stick the used grounds and all in an old coffee can, when the grounds are dry, its easier to remove the filters, but I haven't really saved any thing else :( like potato skins and such, will have to start I guess huh lol...

The problem I have every winter is the cold, (or when it is cold and damp out) it makes me stiff, especially my hands, and it's even hard for me to type sometimes... my fingers just don't want to cooperate with me. But when it is warm out, I don't have so many problems with them... Mind you I am not complaining, just know my limits.. :o)

The spot where I have started piling the leafs, is a low spot and will hold water for a few days after it rains, the area there is where one of my garden spots is going to be. Thus I am building it up (hopefully), 2 sections of our privacy fence is in that low spot, and in the spring I will ad 2 lattice's to the end of it (running t'ward the south) then add 3 lattices (running t'ward the west)... so the area will be around 32 x 24' but with kind of a backward s shape to it on the north side running east to west... I am wanting to put a small pond in it to (not sure tho)... Then the east side of dh garage which will blend with that one, just enough room to get his rider between them... I think the effect is going to really look good when it is done :o)

Hope all that made sense to ya'll,

Connie

The newspapers are used to kill the sod/weeds in the location where you are building your bed. A lasagna bed is as the earlier responders said - it's just a compost pile, and usually must be replenished each fall. Leaves are great - most plants love the leaf mold. I use them in all of my beds. I put the paper down first, then put any kind of organic material I can find. We have a paper mill in our community, and they pile up huge amounts of finely ground pine bark and other forest products at the back of the mill. We gardeners haul it away by the truck loads - it's great for building a bed. Paper, leaves, pine bark, manure (cheap, bagged stuff), and you can grow anything. Composting isn't a sophisticated process, but many well intentioned gardeners make it so. I'm lazy; I never turn the pile. Enjoy gardening - don't complicate it. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Ray

Thanks Ray lol

I don't like complicated either :o)

cg

Sorry Connie - I was typing my southern tale while you were posting. I just think gardening should be fun, and many of us try to get it perfect. It really doesn't matter - nature will normally do its thing.
Ray

I am learning such things :o)
thanks Ray,

Connie

Connie check out this thread - lots of lasagna bed info there.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/649906/

carolvan

Connie, If you're looking for gardening reading material for one of your MI cold days/nights, try "Weedless Gardening" by Lee Reich. Published in 2001, it gives the rationale for "gardening from the top down." I believe in the concept. I have the book on Lasagna Gardening, but I've loaned it to a fellow gardener. I'm having a senior moment, and I can't remember the author's name. Both books should be in your local library. Just don't get caught up in trying to follow any gardening author, step by step. There are many different, efficient ways of doing this stuff. Happy gardening.
Ray

I throw coffee filters in with the grounds in my compost. They deteriorate. I think they would be fine to add to your bed.

Good luck! It sounds like it will be a great spot.

w

Same here on the filters, winging....Connie, it's a lot easier not to separate the grounds from the filters -- the filters break down very quickly, however I do use the brown (natural, unbleached) filters and I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

I have been sheet composting (composting in place) for a long, long time. The lasagne bed is new to me, but the corrugated cardboard to kill grass is awesome and I highly recommend it.

Suzy

Suzy, where do you get your corrugated cardboard at?

cg

I stole it from the 24 hour grocery - they have shopping carts full of boxes and box trays they break down when they are restocking. They line the aisles with shopping carts filled with cardboard if you go around midnight or 1:00. Same with 24 hour box stores like Wal-Mart. Other people use pizza boxes which I thought was a really good idea, but we don't eat that much pizza and I wanted to get the whole thing done in a single day. And once I had the cardboard, it went so FAST. I literally lifted the soil level well over a foot and it took less than 2 hours. You might have seen on another thread that I was in a hurry -- I had won a Turf War with Mr. Clean and had to act fast before he had a chance to lay on conditions....you know, like, "You can have that area as long as you do this, or don't do that." Right now part of the space is holding biennials which will be moved into their final garden space in spring. (I sowed seed right on the top which was 1" screened compost.) The best news is I now have a place for wintersowing containers because I want to wait for the level to drop from all the organic material before I plant anything for real, anyhow.

More than you wanted to know? LOL!

Suzy

Pat Lanza is one of my HEROS! I have been lasagna gardening for about 15 years since I heard Pat speak at an organic gardening weekend seminar at Rodale Farms in PA. I have her original book inscribed with a personal "I told ya so" to my dubious ex. I have created bountiful gardens on hard packed rocky clay and dense sod alike. I made 2 new gardens this year using the lasagna method and they are thriving. I planted in both of them within 2 weeks of finishing the assembly. One is a glorious butterfly garden at the entrance to the school I work in and the other is a corner perenial bed at a dear friend's new home (house warming gift).
I don't use the exact same recipe every time, but the basic method stays the same. It is NOT complicated or labor intensive. The most challenging part is gathering the abundance of raw materials. It works, every time, and NO digging is required. The worms do all the heavy work. :-)
I always beging by laying out a border with an old garden hose and running the lawn mower by the curve to make sure I'm not creating a new mowing challenge. I soak black and white newpapers or cardboard in a bucket or wheelbarrow so it is soaked through and won't blow away easily. Lay out the paper in thick sections with overlapping edges. Each layer I add thereafter is about 2-4 inches thick. The finished product should be 8-14 inches high. Don't worry--it will compact as it breaks down, and like a good lasagna of the more traditional sort, it won't spill over the edges, just ooze a bit. I use shredded leaves, grass clipping, peat moss, compost or manure if I have any, kitchen scraps of all sorts except animal protiens (NO meat or dairy. eggs shells, coffee, tea, vegetable parings, fruits rinds and remains, etc are all good), lime, wood ash, seed free hay and straw, any soil that might be left from houseplants, outdoor containers or other planting projects. Water each layer as you add it. The finished product should be moist like a wrung out sponge but not saturated.
That's it. No more complicated than that. You can plant in it right away or let it rest and break down. I add additional kitchen scraps when ever they become available by pushing the pile aside with my boot then covering it back up the same way. A srpinkle of lime will keep any odor down if any shoulld arise. If you want super fine soil for the spring and are building your lasagna this time of year, a cover of black plastic will hasten the process and kill off any seed that may be in the mix.
When I stop working 7 days and 4 nights a week, I'll post some pics of the butterfly garden at work while I was building it. I ave a decent record of before-during and after photos on the puter at work.
I love this method and wish you the best with it too. The biggest danger is that NO PLACE is safe from the whim to start a new bed. I have barely any lawn left, just paths between gardens. It's all good. :-D

Oh that is great, thanks for the info, and yes please post your pictures here, would love to see all the effects :o)

Connie

ditto - thank you Ladycleo for the great description of your lasagna bed. I have printed off a copy of this thread in anticipation of new bed preparation in early spring. I am collecting newspapers and hope to start a compost pile soon. Your testimonial is very inspirational.
Liz

Lliz - Gliz - You can also use phone books. I use cardboad, but the edges didn't always line up and the flaps created a slit, so I tore up phone books to put over those areas...I felt like the strongman while I was ripping them. -----rrrrrrr!-----

Suzy

the hefty man rofl Suzy ;o)

cg