Carter's Water Garden

My friend, Bill Way, turned me onto this idea of simple, organic style gardening and I think it is really catching on here in my neck of the woods. It’s not a new idea really, just a cool take on an old one… Best thing is, IT WORKS! Below is a very simple breakdown on ‘How To’ make your own Lasagna Garden… ENJOY!

There’s no hard and fast rules about what to use for your layers, just so long as it’s organic and doesn’t contain any protein (fat, meat, or bone). Just as with an edible lasagna, there is some importance to the methods you use to build your lasagna garden ‘Layers’. You’ll want to alternate layers of “browns” such as fall leaves, shredded newspaper, peat, and pine needles with layers of “greens” such as vegetable scraps, garden trimmings, and grass clippings. In general, you want your “brown” layers to be about twice as deep as your “green” layers, but there’s no need to get too picky about this. Just layer browns and greens, and a lasagna garden will result. What you want at the end of your layering process is a two-foot tall layered bed. You’ll be amazed at how much this will shrink down in a few short weeks.

– The basics of making garden lasagnas are simple:

– Don’t remove the sod or do any extra work, like removing weeds or rocks.

– Mark the area for your garden using a water hose or a long rope to get the desired shape.

– Cover the area you’ve marked with wet newspapers, overlapping the edges (5 or more sheets per layer).

– Cover the paper with one to two inches of peat moss or other organic material.

– Layer several inches of organic material on top of the peat moss.

– Continue to alternate layers of peat moss and organic material, until desired thickness is reached.

– Water until the garden is the consistency of a damp sponge.

– Plant, plant, plant and mulch, mulch, mulch.

 Ingredients For A Lasagna Garden

 Anything you’d put in a compost pile, you can put into a lasagna garden. The materials you put into the garden will break down, providing nutrient-rich, crumbly soil in which to plant. The following materials are all perfect for lasagna gardens:

 Grass Clippings
 Leaves
 Fruit and Vegetable Scraps
 Coffee Grounds
 Tea leaves and tea bags
 Weeds (if they haven’t gone to seed)
 Manure
 Compost
 Seaweed
 Shredded newspaper or junk mail
 Pine needles
 Spent blooms, trimmings from the garden
 Peat moss
 Straw
 Hay

If it’s too late in the season this year for you to start one, there is a whole summer of grass clippings and veg. scraps to get started with and FALL is coming with tons of leaves to use! With all this FREE organic material at your fingertips, that you have to dispose of anyway, put it too good use! You won’t regret it!

 Here’s to the Life Abundant!

       – Mark Carter