Remember when people used to lift sod and till the soil to make a new garden bed? You don't still do that, do you? It's been 10 years now, since Pat Lanza first published "Lasagna Gardening", her method of layering compost and newspapers above turf, to create a no dig garden bed. I tend to follow an abridged method of this, with less layers, but it's always good to know the basics before you try to improvise. Danielle Lessovitz explains these basics in her No Dig Garden video. If you were thinking of starting a new bed, but dread the back-breaking work, take a look. And here's my short cut version.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti
Comments
THIS WORKS!!! We did this on our first bed in our new house , and planting in that bed is a JOY!
1. weed wack the area
2. lay down newspaper and drench with water
3. lay good compost on top of the newspapers
4. Top with mulch.
do this in the fall and the bed will be available in the spring
Good job, Sabina. That’s pretty much my article, in a nutshell. Although I’ve planted the area right away. As long as there is a good, thick layer of newspapers and mulch and you make a clean edge, next to nothing will poke through.