Lasagna Bed - Newbie Question

After reading many, many posts on lasagna beds, I haven't found an answer for this question.

I am looking to make lasagna beds on a light sloping area. I have read about the layering up to 12-18" high. We have really strong winds here sometimes - 30-40 MPH.

My question is: without sides on the bed, how do you keep the whole thing from blowing away when it is windy?

I just answered your ? on the GW thread. You and I must hand out at the same places...

Karen

Hi Karen,

Yep. You can see you are the only responder to my question here. Hmmmm. Interesting, eh, what?

Karen

My lasagna beds are also on a slight slope on the east side of the house. One of them has railroad ties around it, the other one does not. When it was just made it was way higher than the borders and even now it is still higher, although of course it may be more compact than when I first built it.

We occasionally have strong winds here too and I am pretty sure nothing has flown away. And probably if it is wet or damp it would be even harder to blow away. May just don't put dry leaves on top.

Clementine,

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

I asked because I keep seeing photos -- bed is completed -- bed is planted, and so forth. No cover and no one mentions covering it until it is decomposed into compost.

Karen

Karen, Most people don't cover the lasagna, and it works well. I've done it both ways, using burlap and not using it, and my subjective observation is that the burlap does help to keep the lasagna moist and speed the rotting. But it also worked just fine without..."everything rots eventually"- frequent quote in composting.

As for the wind factor, it probably won't be an issue if:
1. You mix the light weight browns, like dry leaves, in a homogeneous blob of heavy greens like grass clippings rather than topping off with the leaves, or
2. keep moist- water it daily in dry weather with sprinkler or hose, or
3. top with a heavy weight brown, like shredded wood mulch, or
4. top with an organic fabric, like burlap.

It's not rocket science so don't make it too hard on yourself. Pile on plenty of organic matter. Keep it simple and I promise that you will be pleased with the end result. "Everything rots eventually" with or without your help so don't fret! Enjoy yourself, it's a fun project!

Karen

Every time the wind blows here, if there is a cardboard box, even a flattened one, or anything like that waiting to go to the recycle, I end up picking it up 100 feet away over in my neighbor's yard. I sure don't want my compost/lasagna bed all over his five acres. I think I'm going to have to cover it.

For the brown stuff, I thought I would get leaves. There is a wooded area behind our property -- tons of leaves there . For the green -- well, we just don't have much yard waste or grass clippings -- so I thought I would see if I could get vegetable trimmings from the local market.

I have read that I need a nitrogen fertilizer too in it. Would it be all right to use ammonium nitrate since I won't be planting in it for several months? I have part of a sack left over.

Karen

You really don't need to add fertilizer if you have another source of greens. If you have that wooded area a lot of green stuff should be available there, too. Big old fat weeds, cut up, will make a good green source.

If you do add fertilizer for N, just make sure that it's something that is OK for beneficial organisms, bacteria and fungi as well as the big guys like worms. I don't know that about the ammonium nitrate, maybe someone else could help out here.

You don't want any chemical or salt based N source which is unkind to your bugs and germs since they're the guys you need to compost those ingredients for you.

Karen

Well, duh, of course there are big green weeds -- why didn't I think of that? In fact, there's a huge poke weed making itself at home under my front steps. I'll just cut off the seed heads, if any. Great idea!

Okay. I'll forget the fertilizer since I don't really need it. No point doing more than necessary.

Thanks,

Karen

And chop or cut big pieces into small pieces so they rot faster. And a few shovels full of soil on from the woods on top of the mound would be good, too, as a culture source and wind protection.

Karen

If you have any farm animals in your area (totally depending on what you're growing) a lot of manure can add nitrogen - my horses give tons of it, trust me. You just want to watch out for someone who uses a) dewormers (you could kill all your worms if it's not at least 90 days old) or b) medications/ supplements (really depends on what they are).

Something else you can do is go to a feed store and get a 50 lb sack of alfalfa cubes (usually about $9) and get those all wet. Good for putting in planting holes, too.

HTH

What is it that you are putting in your lasagna bed? I have to admit that I have always topped my lasagna beds with a layer of mulch. I can get shredded wood mulch for free from the county so this is a viable solution for me. I do mulch with shredded leaves and pretty quickly they break down into a form that does not easily blow away. If you keep your bed reasonably damp I doubt you will have much issue with wind. If you do, then a light layer of shredded wood mulch should help.

- Brent

Karen: Good suggestion about the dirt from the woods. I had thought of bagged dirt -- but it is fairly sterile -- that dirt from the woods would be much better.

pagancat: There probably are farm animals around here. My daughter grumbled about transporting straw bales in the back of her Rodeo -- can you imagine if I suggested horse or cow stuff? ROFL.
I had no idea the alfalfa pellets were that cheap. I'll sure keep that in mind. How much would you use? Just a light sprinkling of them or cover it pretty much all over?

Brent: I am going to plant vegetables in a couple of beds that will be in a fairly level area. But we have this huge ugly slope in front of the houses, and I want to put flowers on that slope. There is grass there now, and the soil is way too bad for much of anything else as it is. It is clay with round rocks in it, much too hard to retain any moisture at all. Even the grass is not doing well. I'm looking for a way to fix the soil so I can plant there without digging up the grass, spading up the soil, and adding amendments, turning it under, etc. Lasanga beds sound like an easier way to get there. I sure wish I could get free mulch or compost -- but Tuscaloosa doesn't do that. When I lived in Los Angeles, I could have gotten all of that stuff I wanted for free. Some cities are more progressive than others. = + (

Thanks to you guys I am feeling much more confident about making this work. I am having my daughter post on freecycle for ruined or spoiled straw bales. If I get some, I can use that, otherwise my granddaughter and I can get big plastic bags and take a trip into the woods. She will love that -- NOT -- she's 15.

Karen

Good for you, Karen. Go for it, and have fun. You really can't mess it up too badly, so don't sweat it. Organic matter WILL rot, and you'll end up with a hillside full of pretty flowers. Post pictures for us!

Need flowers to fill it up? Consider winter sowing them- a very small investment $ wise, and lots of fun and fulfillment. Join on on the forum and we'll help you fill that hillside.

Karen

Re: Alfalfa pellets/ alfalfa cubes (the pellets are smaller & neater, but they've been processed more than the cubes....) I'd just use them in whatever ratio you need for nitrogen additives - at least enough to cover the area. The cubes will be easier to work with if you soak them first - they fall apart after a little while.

Good luck, hope to hear how you do!

Yes, Karen, I am looking into winter sowin' while my beds are cookin' - LOL. I have lots of seed packages. If someone said a plant would readily self-sow, I bought it.

At the foot of the slope against the chain link fence, I put in a wisteria and several honeysuckle this spring. Hopefully, they will spread along the fence. On the slope already are 150 daffodill bulbs.

I am hoping to get the rest pretty much covered with annual and perennial flowers which will come back each year - sort of a maintain-itself garden. I realize I have a long way to go, but I gotta start somewhere.

I will definitely post photos.

Pagancat, thanks for the info and the good wishes!

Karen

Looking forward to seeing it. Glad to help.

If you are pulling up any sod, flip it upsode down on top of the lasagna bedd too. The sun will cook the exposed roots of the grass, and the worms get to munch on the other side while it holds everything down.

We recycled several TONS of sod layered with leaves & some manure last fall into these lasagna beds (3000 sf total).

greenjay, your beds look wonderful! I'm impressed with your digging up 3000 sf of sod. Wow, what a job that was!

I'm trying to avoid digging up the grass -- just want to build on top of it and have it go away. Our ground -- I would not call it soil -- is hard red clay mixed all through with little round rocks. When it rains the red clay washes down or the rocks wash up to the top. I'm not sure which way it is. But as it is now, that clay is so hard it would take a strong man with a mattock to dislodge the grass. So that is the reason for the lasagna beds - to be able to plant there and also hopefully to start the clay underneath into actually becoming useable soil.

Karen

We were "recycling" sod that had been pulled up for another project, but frankly after the grass has gone dormant in the fall the stuff peels up like cheap shag carpet

greenjay,

I'll check this fall when I start my project. If the grass comes up easily I'll do it that way. Can't say I've ever tried to uproot turf at that time of the year.

Thanks for the additional info.

Karen