Tuesday, January 2

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I would love the hear your lasagna gardening stories!

Post your story and photograph links below.

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13 comments:

  1. Hi!

    We enjoyed your book and have been using your practical approach for years -- adding in our own twists like any recipe of course!

    This is to let you know we found an even easier way to do the newspaper part of the process -- cardboard! We discovered this a bit by accident while putting in a new garden after moving to a new state when we had more cardboard from moving boxes than we did newspaper. Along the principle of using what you have available, we tried to cardboard and were hooked. The local Sears store up in our little country town has a recycle bin for cardboard out back that he lets us scrounge from there when we need some. Removing any staples and styrofoam is necessary, but the only tool it takes for shaping is Ye Olde Exacto knife. It acts like numerous levels of newspaper but is much easier to place. We prefer to use cardboard without the plasticky coating or too much colored ink. The earthworms LOVE the cardboard, and it all breaks down after the bed is established and doing well.

    Thanks so much for your work and perspectives! great job!

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  2. I enjoyed your article on Lasagna Gardenig article in "Birds & Blooms". I do similar thins also but have you ever tried old carpets especially where there is weeds. Lay the carpet down covere with about 3 or 4 " of top soil & mulch of your choice. I like bark mulch & ground up wood. Cheers, Marguerite Rafuse

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  3. Just wanted to share a few photos of our lasagna garden (2009). This was our first lasagna garden and we layered & planted all on the same day. I won't garden any other way. The results were so far past my expectations! I didn't take photos later but our garden produced well into fall and it was beautiful with all the gourd & squash vines growing out and along the ground.
    Along with our lasagna garden we also tried "Straw Bale" gardening... it worked fine and was a nice border for our quick lasagna garden.

    http://s944.photobucket.com/albums/ad282/lakemp52/Lasagna%20Garden%202009/http://s944.photobucket.com/albums/ad282/lakemp52/Lasagna%20Garden%202009/

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  4. I am so excited to hear from all of you and know you are embracing lasagna gardening with your own versions. Keep Growing!

    Things move slow but check out amazon.com for my new book "My Garden Doctor". It is one of my favorite old books and I have reprinted it for everyone to enjoy. You can also order from me at patlasagna@aol.com and get a signed copy. Cheers!

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  5. Can I ask for advice on here? I did my first ever lasagna garden bed last year, in CA with spectacular results. I moved to KY in Oct. with no time to prepare any garden sites. My father suddenly plowed up a very large section for me, and left it all quite the muddy mess (clay soil). I wanted to lasagna garden, and I don't want to hurt his feelings. Can I just rake it all evenly, and plop my layers on top? I have plenty of manure, leaves, and zero of anything else, including dollars :-) How can I make lasagna gardening work, with that in mind? Thanks for any advice.

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  6. Patricia, you ARE a peach. Thanks for being your energetic, inspiring self. We've done a bit of lasagna gardening at our homes in NY and CA. I enjoy all of the information tidbits in your book - have received 2 copies as gifts from my children! Can't wait to read your newest book. Gardening has done more for me than any other doctor - for stress reduction and heaing, it can't be beat.

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  7. Dear Pat,

    What can we say except than that we hope that this link will also inspire you:
    http://soekershof.typepad.com/the-green-cathedral/2010/04/succulent-soekershof.html

    More info: http://soekershof.com or (also hr JPEG-pics) info@soekershof.co.za

    Warm Greetings from The Hot Spot in South Africa

    Yvonne & Herman

    "Best Garden in the Western Cape" (The Independent, UK; January 2010)
    Certified by Fair Trade in Tourism in South Africa since 2006.
    Flower Magazine (USA), Spring 2010: "They have fun; they inspire; and, most of all, they communicate the transcedent message of beauty"

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  8. Pat - I love your book & am redoing an existing bed in the back yard. I do have a question though on an existing flower bed that is 3 years old. I started it the traditional way, but the flowers & plants don't really grow, they come up but don't "grow." What is the easiest way to convert this space? Right now it is flush with the grass (which also doesn't grow!) The soil seems rich, but there are lots of small roots which I feel maybe choking the roots of the plants.

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  9. Hi Patricia,
    I live in sunny Southern California in the High Desert region. Lots of dry heat, sand and wind. I would like to try this type of gardening and wondered if I had to have the peat moss? I have access to grass clippings, pine needles, newspaper, compost, manure (aged not fresh) and worm castings (from my Mother's business: wormpoop.com). Would these items suffice for a lasagna garden. I have a designated areas with lots of sunlight and a water source. Any pointers you could give me? Thanks, Kami
    Sunny in SoCal.

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  10. Patricia,
    I'm working on an article on no-dig gardening for a national group of magazines and would love to get your input. Please let me know if it would be possible to send you a rough draft to review. Thanks! John

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  11. Hi -- I'm about to try your wonderful method and have a problem -- my new yard is full of nut grass, which I'm told is even worse than the bermuda grass I'm used to struggling with. Will the layering kill nut grass? Thanks, Catherine

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  12. Hello, I need some advise! I lived in Northern California all of my life but have recently moved to Tucson, Az and am having all kinds of trouble. When my body says "time to plant" I go into the nurseries and it's "too late" I have used your method in Ca but struggle here. I have everything in pots and on drip but am finding that it is not really working well. I think the roots get too hot and my pots dry out too quickly. It can be quite windy here and I am worried that my layers will blow away. Does your method work in the desert southwest? How do I keep my layers from "moving"? Any information would greatly appreciated!

    Thanks,
    Deanna

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  13. Hello, Patricia;
    Have just begun reading LG and by pg. 30 have already got ideas buzzing in my brain. A scruffy unkempt rock garden and two irregular piles of sod are soon to become Lasagne Gardens. But here's an idea you may be interested in. Being quite arthritic, I wanted to switch to raised bed gardening some five or six years ago. My husband had a heart attack and was unable to complete construction of the beds. However, a neighbour took me to the local dump where we found two discarded chest-style deep freezes. After removing the lids and using them as platforms for the chests, I punched several holes in the bottoms for drainage, filled each with about 18" of coarse rock followed by a layer of newspaper and 24" or more of soil. I used a neighbour's electric cement mixer to blend topsoil, peatmoss, manure, compost and bone meal. Practically had to stand back as the seeds germinated so quickly. No weeds, waist high and so no bending over and the insulated chests allow crops to continue growing earlier and longer than one would expect. I've got seven of these things now plus a couple of half-barrels and two old wringer washers in the plot that used to be a traditional garden. I call it a "junk yard garden". I have begun painting the exteriors of the old appliances using brown enamel paint and bright vines and flowers over top. Sort of "early American hippy" if you know what I mean. But I am so excited at reading your book and I can't wait to begin transforming that old rock garden. Until now I had planned on getting rid of the rocks and turning that patch into lawn. No longer! Thanks a million for your great ideas!
    Regards,
    Pat Wind.

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