When you hear the term "lasagna gardening," you probably immediately think of a certain Italian dish. However, lasagna gardening is actually less about what you make than how you make it. The term lasagna gardening relates to the layering process employed when adding required ingredients. When applied to gardening, this approach is a big plus since you don't have to do much digging to start a bed.

Get An Early Start

With a lasagna garden, you are basically using compost on your garden site. Though you can choose to begin to plant inside your lasagna garden from when you first create it, most gardeners prefer get to an early start. Many start their lasagna garden beds during the fall so that they can be used the next spring.

Creating a Base Layer

You should begin by creating a base layer that should kill any weeds or grass that may be growing inside the bed area. A bed that is about 4 feet wide provides enough width to plant multiple vegetables. At the same time, a bed this size is sufficiently narrow so that gardeners can reach inside and not disturb plants. After mowing away grass, lay down a barrier of newspaper or corrugated cardboard, normally about 6-10 sheets, over the garden bed. Next, wet the material down using a hose. This helps the material remain in place. For cardboard, you may want to walk over the cardboard, after wetting it, to further push it down.

Creating Compost Layers

Next comes the part that will make clear why it's called lasagna gardening. Spread a 2 to 3 inch layer of a material with high nitrogen content on top of the cardboard. This material could be, for example, kitchen scraps, compost, manure, worm castings or coffee grounds. Over this layer, add another layer of a material that is carbon-rich such as leaves or grass clippings. This layer should be approximately 4-6 inches in thickness. Continue to add layers in this manner until you have no material remaining. The layers that are carbon based will quickly tamp down, so don't worry if the bed looks too high at first. You want the pile to range between 18 inches and 3 feet.

Completing the Bed

If you put down the bed in the fall, you should lay down a plastic, black sheet over the entire bed and let it remain covered over the fall and winter. Weigh the sheet down by placing lumber or rocks around the edges to make sure the plastic stays in place. It's fine to begin planting in the spring. You can plant directly inside the beds, but do keep in mind that the nutrients inside the soil will not have yet broken down enough to feed your plants immediately. To ensure your plants have the necessary nutrients to grow, you should add some soil or finished compost to your top layer.  

Talk to a local nursery to learn more about lasagna gardening.