Gone are the days of tilling up the lawn to create a new flower and/or vegetable bed!
For the last 3-4 years, I’ve gradually been replacing the lawn with permeable hardscapes, native flower beds, an extended herb garden, and extra veggie planting areas. To do this, we’ve adopted the lasagna method of gardening. The best time to implement lasagna gardening is in the fall and over the winter.
1. Mark off the boundaries of the desired planting areas.
2. Weed-eat the turf within the marked areas down to the root nubs.
3. Rake out and reserve the cut grass.
4. Cover the scalped area with layers of overlapping cardboard, newspapers, shredded paper, dried leaves, grass clippings, and mulch.
Over the winter months, worms and micro-organisms decompose the layers and turn it into a densely nutritious layer of soil. You can add a top layer of compost before planting.
Besides getting great soil for almost nothing, I can do all the work myself! By spring, the soil is ready for seeds and the brown layers have broken up enough to dig through and plant established plants, rootings, and cuttings. I’ve even put in iris bulbs in the early part of the process. If you haven’t already divided your bulbs, you better get a move on!
Enjoy this easy method and happy winter gardening!
Are you ready to try Lasagna Gardening?
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
Shelia, I have an invasion of Bermuda grass in my front bed! Help!
do you have perennials planted there? If so, pull out as much of the grass as possible, cover the entire bed with newspapers and cardboard leaving the perennials stickling out. Now is a good time to do this because it’s time to cut them way back anyway. Cover the cardboard/newspaper with composted mulch. You can get a couple of years delivered from a garden center. After the perennials start coming back, add more mulch and/or organic material like leaves and wood chips. If you see someone in your town trimming trees, ask them to dump the chipped bark in your driveway!
I love this idea. Thanks for the suggestion!