Starting my lasagna beds

[ScottinAtlanta]

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.

[Suze]

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.

[dice]

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.

[ScottinAtlanta]

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.

[Too Tall Toms]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

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.

Those beds look really neat. What kind of wood is that?

So, after you make the lasagna garden, do you have to wait until you plant in it? Or, can you plant right away??

[lakelady]

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!

[Dutch]

Scott, your lasagna beds look fantastic! It appears to be a job well done. Nice pictures. Good luck in the upcoming growing season.
Dutch

[ScottinAtlanta]

Originally Posted by Too Tall Toms

Those beds look really neat. What kind of wood is that?

So, after you make the lasagna garden, do you have to wait until you plant in it? Or, can you plant right away??

The wood is simply 2 X 12 treated wood, what we call deck wood in Atlanta, from Lowes at around $1.13/foot. It should last 4-5 years before rotting.

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.

[Mudman]

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.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Would alfalfa pellets work for the "green"?

[ddsack]

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!

[dustyrivergarden]

Don't forget to add rock dust. For a new bed I found that to be a huge plus for me.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Originally Posted by dustyrivergarden

Don't forget to add rock dust. For a new bed I found that to be a huge plus for me.

Why rock dust, Dusty?

[dustyrivergarden]

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....