A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.
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November 17, 2011 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 2,593
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Starting my lasagna beds
Folks, I learned about lasagna beds right on this Forum, and so thank you. I am building 5 raised beds lasagna style, 12 inches high by 25 feet by 3 feet wide.
The method is as follows: I start with a 4 inch layer of mulched leaves and tree bark that have composted for a year (already black). I wet it thoroughly. Layer 2 is 3 inches of soil - brown top soil mixed with 30% sand. Layer 3 is freshly mulched leaves, about 4 inches again. Layer 4 is soil to the top of the boards - making 12 inches high. My question - is there anything else I should be adding at this point to get it ready for March planting? I wanted also to note that composting is amazing. I piled up mulched leaves a week ago, and today the centre of the pile was close to 100 degrees, even after a pouring rain. Those little buggers were really working hard. |
November 17, 2011 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,027
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Scott - just some musings / thoughts for you to consider-
I'm wondering if you need a green (meaning higher in N and/or protein, not necessarily related to the color of the input) of some sort, at least at in your first year of getting all this going. Leaves are considered a brown (higher ratio of carbon) and so is tree bark**, so I just thought I would mention it. Manures, grass clippings, or blood meal are some examples of greens. (**but you indicated they are somewhat broken down/composted, so likely more on the "neutral" side at this point) I would also be inclined to add a little something extra as "fast food" for the microherd, again since your beds are new, like molasses for example. But that's just me and I'm not saying it's strictly necessary, especially if you have sufficient green inputs. |
November 18, 2011 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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Layer 3 will probably be down to 1-2" by spring, so you will have room
for a layer of mulch on top. I would normally suggest a winter annual legume that you can cultivate into the top few inches of soil after cutting it in spring, but I do not know if it is warm enough for anything to sprout this late in the year. (Field peas sprout best at 24C, for example; Crimson Clover is recommended to be planted "6 weeks before first frost", and "needs some warm weather at first to become well established before winter".) So maybe not this year for that.
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November 26, 2011 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 2,593
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Folks, many thanks for the feedback. I particularly like the idea of planting a winter legume, but it is too late for that - we are already getting occasional frosts here in Atlanta.
Here are the finished beds - 25 feet by 3 feet by 12 inches. Layered mulch and topsoil. Composting quietly through the winter months, creating richness for the spring. Last edited by ScottinAtlanta; November 26, 2011 at 05:29 AM. Reason: add pic |
November 26, 2011 | #5 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 116
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Quote:
So, after you make the lasagna garden, do you have to wait until you plant in it? Or, can you plant right away?? |
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November 26, 2011 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: northern NJ zone 6b
Posts: 1,862
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Scott, those beds look great!! That's going to be a terrific place to grow vegetables, especially tomatoes. And to think the planning you've done now will pay off in Spring for you. I hope you get lots of big juicy tomatoes in there!
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Antoniette |
November 26, 2011 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: S.E. Wisconsin Zone 5b
Posts: 1,831
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Scott, your lasagna beds look fantastic! It appears to be a job well done. Nice pictures. Good luck in the upcoming growing season.
Dutch |
November 26, 2011 | #8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 2,593
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Quote:
I understand that you can plant immediately, but I prefer to let the 200 bags of mulched leaves compost a while through the winter. The soil used between the mulch layers is sieved with 30% sand so that it is permeable and soft. |
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November 26, 2011 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: NW Wisconsin
Posts: 910
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Looks great! I think your mixture will work just fine, but as Suze said, a green can be helpful. When I have done lasagna beds in the past I always used grass clippings as one of the layers. Living up north does not only mean a shorter growing season, but also a shorter composting season. The grass clippings have always helped me to speed up the process.
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Mike |
December 1, 2011 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 2,593
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Would alfalfa pellets work for the "green"?
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December 1, 2011 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3
Posts: 3,231
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They should work very well. But be careful if you decide to plant right away and not let them compost down. I added too much alfafa meal to my growing tomato pots and about killed them. I had to repot the lot of them, and the dumped soil smelled just like fermented fresh cow manure! Too much of a good thing!
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December 10, 2011 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Holbrook, Az zone 5
Posts: 157
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Don't forget to add rock dust. For a new bed I found that to be a huge plus for me.
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“The yield of a crop is LIMITED by the deficiency of any one element even though all of the other necessary elements are present in adequate amounts”. J. Von Liebig's law of the minimum. |
December 10, 2011 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 2,593
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December 11, 2011 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Holbrook, Az zone 5
Posts: 157
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I have a garden blog go to it at www.dustyrivergardens.blogspot.com and look for Growing your Soil with rock dust. Its the last of my articles on the page. I really have had a lot of success using it and my tomatoes have a ton more flavor....
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“The yield of a crop is LIMITED by the deficiency of any one element even though all of the other necessary elements are present in adequate amounts”. J. Von Liebig's law of the minimum. |
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