Lasagna gardening beds

[MYellowRose]

Hope this post doesn't disappear into cyberspace like the one I wrote earlier. LOL
I've decided to make a couple of raised lasagna gardening beds. Has anyone here done this?
My plans are to make them either 4'x4' or 4'x6' depending on how longs the boards I buy are. If they're 8' long one cut will make them the small size, if they're 10' long one cut will make them the larger size. I figure two beds are enough for me to eat from for most of the year and hopefully have enough to share with my DD and her family.
I want to set them up early next month and cover them with black plastic until early to mid February when I can plant then cover them if by some chance we get a late freeze. I'm in hopes the larger beds will hold the moisture in better than the buckets I had planned to use as we've still got Stage-I water restrictions here. In other words I can only water once or twice a week between the hours of 8pm and 10am, or so. The last two years or total official rainfall has been less than half of what we normally get.
I've got the newspaper, leaves, and some garden soil but I'll have to buy some peat moss and manure at a garden center, probably up at Wal-Mart as it's within walking distance and I can bring it home in my wheeled grocery cart. Will be buying local seedlings in the hopes that they will be the right thing for my area.
Please pass along any suggestions you may have that I can use.

[Smoky]

I hope they do good for you. My suggestion is to leave out the peat moss. It's an unneccessary item and costs too much anyway. Anything organic is good, especially the leaves.
What about planting peas real early, then after frost date go to your other veggies?
Good luck with your new beds.

[Faye]

I would like to have the book but I'm going to try this anyway. I have 2 raised beds now that are about 12'x4' and I found some 2x6's today I can use to make some smaller beds with. I am only going to plant in raised beds from now on and not a lot of them. Hopefully we can make 2 or 3 more and that will be enough. I know it sounds terrible but I am not going to put up food anymore because it is just my husband and me and really gardening for canning is expensive. I still like to have fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and a couple other things. If you have any suggestions on how to do the lasagna garden I would appreciate the help.

[MarechalNiel]

MYellowRose, I would also suggest avoiding the peat. It is often hard to wet, expensive, and some plants just plain don't like it much. It took me years to discover that. And make sure the manure you buy is very well composted and doesn't smell like 'fresh' manure, or your plants might burn.

Coffee grounds, tea bags, crushed egg shells are all good to add when making your beds. If there is a coffee shop nearby, maybe you could get some of their spent grounds before they throw them away. Also, is there any chance you could locate some rotten wood, like logs or tree bark that has laid on the ground and rotted? Plants love that, too. Also, if you get your soil going, you might plant a bit of rye grass on it, let it grow until mid-February and then dig it under. Give it about two weeks to decompose and plant. The rye grass will add organic matter too.

Just a few suggestions, it sounds like a fun project.

[bookwormom]

more power to you. since you live close enough to a Wal mart, maybe there are some restaurants like golden corral or the like in the vicinity, too? I sure would ask them for their vegetable peelings and stuff. Here you can watch them trimming the stuff and they have piles of carrot and potatoes peelings, the trimmings from broccoli and cauliflower heads, lettuce leaves and so on. they can not say more than no, and maybe they won't, especially if you are reliable in picking up a couple five gallon buckets on a regular basis. don't forget to ask for coffee grounds. and remember, you are doing them and the planet a favor, otherwise good organic stuff would go into the landfill. I certainly wish you the very best with your endeavor.

[GrannySueD_in_IL]

I've used them for the past three years - but without any support. They spread a little that way, but it's not a problem for me.

I layered the newspapers, then yard waste (including branches and pine needles) and wood chips (free from the village), then grass, then massive layer of leaves (did nothing to them but dump and spread). Spread powdered lime on top of that and finally brought in some mushroom compost (did this at Dad's in the burbs - was living there for a while). Anyway - most productive gardens I've ever raised, and will do it always in the future!

The first year, had more of everything than I had stomachs and jars for, and it just keeps getting better each year. They are also one heck of a lot easier to plant out than regular rows are.

Each year after that, they got mulched with the grass clippings through summer, and all the leaves in fall. NEVER had to add anything but a little lime - that was because of all the pine and spruce.

Don't bother with the peat if you have a bit of pine needles and leaves.

Be careful of bringing in anything like I did with the wood chips... They tend to bring pests (zillions of ants in my case).

One warning - they ALWAYS look dry on the top. Always. However, if you dig in they are plenty moist, and they don't need as much watering after the first year as most other kinds of gardens. With the wood sides, they will be fine - but you do have to poke around to figure on the water needs.

Sue

[MYellowRose]

Sue I have no access to pine needles. I've got lots of leaves on the ground and some potting soil that I bought year before last.
I'm also saving coffee grounds but wonder just how to use them since by the time I can actually build a bed they will probably be moldy. Do I just drop the filter and grounds on the bed as is or do I need to try and compost them first. I also have a few kitchen scraps that I saved from making soup the other day. I'll put them in an empty kitty litter bucket and set them outside but other than that I don't know what to do with them. I don't have anywhere to put a compost pile nor will I have enough scraps to actually need one. I'm thinking of putting the scraps directly on the garden bed when I first lay it out. Is that okay?
I've got some boards that I may use to try and keep the bed from spreading too much but I may not even do that as I don't know how I would get them to stand up on edge.

[hunter63]

I have my beds long and narrow, 12' X 3' , so a to reach the center with out stepping in it from the path.
Something to think about as long as you haven't built them yet.

[MYellowRose]

Yep, I've already decided to make them narrow for that very reason. I'm putting one down under the tongue at the front of the trailer I live in. It faces West and I want to plant something that will grow up a twine trellis and cover the kitchen window. I'm debating on just what I want to plant to do that, probably something like cucumbers or maybe pole beans. Any suggestions will be sincerely appreciated. I'm also going to plant tomatoes, bell peppers, bush squash, bunching onions, spinach, carrots and lettuce. I'm also going to plant another bed with herbs. I may also try growing some brussels sprouts.

[Smoky]

MYR: Since it sounds like you don't have enough material for a good compost pile, why don't you just bury the coffee grounds in a pot or bucket (with drainage) of soil now? They will start breaking down and you can still dump it in the beds when you build them. I hope you can have a good garden this year! ;D

[JudyOK]

Hi Yellow Rose,
I don't know much about Lasagna gardening, not really sure what it is, except I assume it is a matter of layering stuff in a designated spot to plant in. I just wanted to remark that we made a raised garden bed last summer, and I would never garden any other way now. I love it because it is up where I can reach it. I didn't layer anything, just dumped in a truckload of top soil and a pickup load of mushroom compost and dug it in, and I was shocked that my plants grew so big and lush even though I planted too late to have much of anything mature. But I do put my kitchen scraps and coffee and tea grounds out there. Our bed isabout 3 feet high by 7' by 24'. I used cross ties stacked for the sides with T posts driven into the soil outside the bed to keep the ties in place with the weight of the dirt on them It makes it sturdy enough that I can lean on it without knocking anything down.

You may not be wanting one so big, but you mentioned now knowing how to keep boards standing up to keep the bed from spreading. A couple of cross ties stacked will stay put by themselves pretty well. You may want to line the inside wall with black plastic however to keep any creosote from leaching into the dirt. I hope you have good success with your garden. If you are like me, you will be wanting to plant more things than you have room for. I always plant too densely, but my garden is thriving this year too, even though things are packed in there. I have 9 huge red cabbages that need picked just now, and we have been harvesting beets and beet greens and spinach until they are coming out my ears, and now I am steaming a batch of brussels sprouts. I never grew those before, and I am extatic with the plants and how they are growing and producing. I hardily recommend sprouts if you like them. They like growing in cooler weather I think but mine are still doing fine in 90 and 80 degree temps I have put some in the freezer already.

Good luck with making your garden. Also, I noticed you use a line from Daniel O'Donnell's song in your message. Daniel is one of my very favorite singers, so I was pleased to see it.

Blessings,
Judy

[JAK]

MYellowRose,

Hope things are growing well. I would have suggest growing cucumbers and pole beans together, and perhaps some lettuce and stuff also. I don't do lasagna, but I do do raised beds. I find the weeds are much less trouble when you keep stuff bunched together. Whatever I grow I like to throw other stuff around it that can go in a salad, so when I do have to weed I at least get to eat it. Chives are a lovely herb to grow and eat up here. They are just blooming now up here, but in Texas you could probably grow just about anything. Cheers.