Last spring, I added a new raised bed to my vegetable area and filled it using the lasagna method. Despite not having a winter to percolate and meditate and otherwise breakdown, the soil in the garden was humus-rich and fertile. A trowel would easily sink 10 inches into the “dirt” in this bed. I grew some large (if slightly out of control) tomato plants in the bed, and I have a freezer full of the tomato sauce I made with the fruits. So, all in all, a success.
When I cleaned the bed up about two weeks ago, it was clear the lasagna had shrunk. This is to be expected. Lasagna gardening basically involves making compost in your vegetable bed. So, over the past few days, I’ve been layering on the fresh materials: slabs of sod taken out of the lawn, vegetable scraps, a thick layer of finished compost from my two compost piles, and on top, a layer of chopped leaves. These will have several months to breakdown and renew the bed. I’m not sure what I will plant there next year, but it’s a long winter here, so I’ll have plenty of time to think about it.
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