How-to Prepare a New Garden Bed – Lasagna Style

In an area that was once turf, the ground has been covered with wetted newspaper, marked and edges cut ready for organic mulch.

Fall is a great time to prepare garden beds for spring planting. Better yet, with time on your side, no tilling need be involved.

Weather you are adding a vegetable garden or flower bed, marking your area and covering it with organic matter is all you need do to ready your new garden bed.  Adding an edge gives the new garden bed a “finished” look.

The easiest way to add a new garden bed is to commandeer existing turf in a method commonly referred to as Lasagna Gardening, popularized by Pat Lanza.

Create the shape of a new bed with marking paint or a garden hose.  Once the shape has been decided, mow any turf at the lowest setting.

Using the marking paint or hose as a guide, take a straight-edge shovel to cut into the sod straight down.  This will become the bed’s edge.  Once the front edge is cut, turn around and repeat, this time inserting the shovel in at a 37º angle creating a wedge.  Throw and spread this dirt into the area to become your new garden bed.

Cover with 8 – 10 sheets  of wetted newspaper and then cover with 4 – 6 inches of organic matter such as hardwood mulch, composted leaf mulch or compost.  Areas heavy with clay or sand, add multiple layers of organic matter and newspaper for further benefit.

Let nature do the work for you.  Over time, the earthworms and microbes will incorporate and decompose the area into usable, friable earth.

This planting method can be done at any time.  What is important to do is to give the amended area about 3 months for nature to kill the grass and  blend the organic matter into the native soil.

Although this type of garden bed creation is as old as gardening itself, we are grateful Pat Lanza brought it back into the forefront.

New bed has been prepared and is resting until nature takes her course.

By: Helen Yoest
The TarHeelGardening blog is published and edited by Helen Yoest. For more information on Tarheel Gardening, please visit our website at Tarheel Gardening - your online resource for North Carolina gardening enthusiasts.