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Soil, Compost & Mulch

lasagna question

16 years ago

i'm going to be making up a lasagna bed soon and i had a question about some potential materials in my back yard -- i have a garbage can full of rotting apples, leaves and weeds from the fall that was left open. lots of water accumulated and it was smelling pretty yucky. i recently drained it and it's been drying out a bit. can i use it or do i need to put it out by the curb as yard waste?

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Comments (5)

madmagic
16 years ago
Yup, you can use those yucky-smelling materials.

Last spring, a neighbour who had been trying to compost all winter in two plastic garbage cans (without drainage holes) approached me and asked if I would like to have the results of their household trash.

I said okay and hauled their trash over to my back yard. Dumped it overtop two lasagna beds, then quickly covered both beds with leaves from my leaf pile to reduce the rancid smell.

Both of those beds produced wonderfully well. There were no signs of pests or diseases; instead, I had plants growing up strong and healthy and full of energy.

I'd suggest trying an experiment, for yourself. Dump that garbage can on one area of your garden, cover the surface after dumping with leaves or another high-carbon material.

Then, leave it alone. Plant as you usually plant, and compare the area where the smelly stuff was dumped.

All the best,
-Patrick
kcannard
Original Author
16 years ago
thanks, patrick! i'll go for it.

i'm assuming that i should keep my trimmings from the very very invasive blackberry out of it, though??
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This one is yummy. From Jojoco: Portobella Lasagna kosher salt olive oil 3/4 lb dried lasagna noodles 4 cups whole milk 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/2 lbs portabella mushrooms 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 T salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally; drain and set aside. For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan; set aside. Melt 8 T (1 stick) of the butter in large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 T salt, the pepper and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3-5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat. Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 T of oil and 2 T of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside. To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8x12x2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then one-third of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat two more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot. Note: I added fresh spinach and provolone.
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madmagic
16 years ago
Speaking only for myself, I don't compost invasive plants at all. There's Japanese Knotweed in the garden here and it goes straight into the trash to become landfill. I would never use it as a lasagna compost material.

Other people on this forum have described various ways to make invasives safe for composting, such as drying them thoroughly, or forcing them to rot in a closed plastic bag or under water, prior to composting. Never tried these methods myself, so I can't comment.

All the best,
-Patrick
Kimmsr
16 years ago
Whether to put any invasive plant into your garden as a source of vegetative waste depends on what you use of that plant. Never put the roots of any invasive, or many other, "weed" where those roots can get nourishment or they will start to grow again. Some few "weeds" may be able to root (Ivy for instance) from nodes on the stems, but burying these deeply in the compost pile will stop that. There is not reason to put aggressive growth plants, or invasssive species, in plastic bags, or under water, prior to using them and there is no good reason to not use them since they often have, in the plant, valuable nutrients your soils can use, just handle them so they cannot grow again.
eskota
16 years ago
Creeping bermudagrass, Johnsongrass, and sandbur are three that I don't compost. Not sure what would render those "safe" ingredients.

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