For a fast fall garden the lasagna garden may be the garden style that will fit your plan the easiest and produce a small and fast garden area.
With a lasagna garden you can use an area of the yard that would normally be difficult to till or prepare the soil to grow great plants. This can be a grassed-over area of your yard, a rocky spot where nothing will grow or an area where the soil is too difficult to turn over. Lasagna gardening is also perfect for clay soils.
Measure out the area of ground you want to plant and mark it off. Remember that you are planning a fall garden so keep the garden small and plan for crops that will mature in 60 days or less, that can be covered against frost or are cool weather crops.
Fill this area with several thicknesses of newspaper or a single thickness of cardboard. Making sure to overlap the edges so no weeds can get through. I find that wetting the newspaper will help hold it in place until you place a layer on top. Believe me, it takes only a small breeze to pick newspaper up and scatter it across the yard.
Next, spread a layer of whatever material you have on hand. I usually have grass clippings, rotted sawdust, leaves, straw or compost available. Each layer should be 6 to 12 inches deep. It will pack down with time and moisture.
There is no particular order in which materials should be added to the pile, as long as you incorporate a variety that will provide all the nutrients essential to good plant growth.
Plant your fall crops and be prepared for a nice harvest well into the late fall. Greens, herbs, fall flowers, cukes, beans cabbage, broccoli, and kale are only a few plants that will thrive in only a few months.
One advantage of a lasagna fall garden is it’s a great way to prepare a new garden area for the following growing season. You can keep adding material to the garden area all winter long. Just remember to spread each layer of material to the edge. This will help to ensure a uniform rate of decay.
Finally, after the garden is done and you have removed any spent plants, water the pile regularly until the ground freezes. The garden will continue to break down and build great soil for the following season. In the spring, you’ll have thick dense rich soil, which plants will thrive in.
Fall Lasagna Gardening Tips:
Kitchen waste, including used tea bags and coffee grounds, crushed egg shells and vegetable peelings can also be added to the garden area in the late fall after the garden is put to rest. They will have all winter to break down and add nutrients to the soil.
Keep a path shoveled to your garden during the winter so that you can keep adding materials even after it snows
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