Lasagna Gardening

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For those who are in doubt, I suggest you take a walk in the forest and renew your relationship with Mother Nature. She is the original lasagna gardener, though not as neat as me. In nature, debris drops to the forest floor, and without any help from man, creates layers of dark, rich humus. Tree and wildflower seeds fall into the debris-turned-humus, sprout, and grow.

Unless you live in the forest, you probably want a neater, more organized garden. But to have any kind of garden—neat or otherwise—you first need good soil. Traditionalists would agree on the good soil premise and either crank up the tiller or get out the cultivator. My neat layers promote good soil without tillers or cultivators. You take the first step by simply covering the earth, creating a moist dark place where earthworms will come. Once you see worm activity, you know you're on the right track to having good soil. All additional layers of organic material encourage and feed the earthworm population. Worms are nature's rototillers.

But wait: what about the Ruth Stout advocates who say, "So what? It's all been done before." Well, perhaps I am Ruth Stout reincarnated, only neater, and with some fundamental differences. I don't just use spoiled hay on top of a garden that has been plowed every year for 30 or 40 years. I layer right on top of sod, flattened weeds, or between rocks. I don't throw all the refuse back on top of the hay. I tuck unsightly waste under the paper, both for worm food and to keep it out of sight. Also, I don't have to worry a whole lot about snakes or rodents. I don't like to share too much of my space with either, and they do love that loose hay. Last, I never take my clothes off in the garden, no matter how much I would like to.

LASAGNA-MAKING 101

Before you buy the first plant, or lay down the first sheet of wet newspaper, take a look around your property. Check to see where you get the best light; that's where you'll put your garden. Decide on the shape and contents of your garden. The size of your plot will determine how much material you need to make your first lasagna. Your material list will change depending on where you live. Some folks have more leaves than others, some have seaweed, others ground cornstalks or apple pulp. Some of the lucky ones have access to animal manure.

There's no hard and fast rules about what to use for your layers, just so long as it's organic and doesn't contain any protein (fat, meat, or bone).

Before I go any further, let me just say that the basics of making garden lasagnas are simple:

You need less loose material to plant in than you might think. In the spring of '98, I layered an area where a dog pen had stood for years. The property belongs to a 79-year-old man who was upset about his inability to garden as he once had. Until recently, a 100-year-old white pine tree had occupied the center of the fenced-in area. But its roots had begun to do real damage to my friend's house and surrounding properties, and so the tree had to be taken down.

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