Lasagne garden challenge

16 years ago

Have 2 raised 2.5 x 10' lasagne beds I put in early March. I layered with dried leaves, produce waste from grocery store, dried straw, grass clippings, more dried leaves etc. and topped off last 3 inches with store bought Kellogg's brand compost/mulch. I let the beds sit for 6 weeks prior to planting anything in them. In one bed I planted petunias to companion with green beans and cucumbers and in the other bed I have 3 tomatoes, 3 basil and 3 marigolds. Two of the cucumber seedlings wilted and died which got me searching for a cause. I discovered the bed is infested with fungus gnats and now both beds keep popping up mounds of toadstools/mushrooms.

After reading I understand that the larvae of the gnats are probably feeding on the seedling roots and the adults don't bother with the plants. I sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the top of the beds and a few days later smashed up mosquito dunks which I soaked in water and poured into the beds. I also have a yellow sticky card which is covered now with gnats.

Does anybody have any other suggestions regarding the gnats and also, what do I do about the toadstools/mushrooms? I am not going to attempt to put in the beans and replant cukes until this mess is somewhat under control. The toadstool clusters are anywhere from 3 to 5 inches across and I would imagine trying to keep seeds moist these things will uproot them. Thanks for your help !!!

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Comments (4)

herboil
16 years ago
Can you post a picture or describe the mushroom? I may be able to identify it and give you a solution.
Fungicide is NOT the solution. Pullem them up would be. But they are beneficial to the soil and are going to help your lasagna bed break down quicker over time.
There's the added benefit that they could be adible( read: NO NOT TRY THEM until proper identification is made)
About the gnats, looks like you have it under control, but I've read( and used it myself) that a couple drops of soap in a cup of water then cover the surface witht he soap water, and it eats the egg membrances so no new gnats will hatch, and then you just cover the top with dry, gnat proof soil and problem solved.
ruphisrenonv
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for your response, herboil. I will apply the dishsoap water today and hopefully get rid of the eggs. As far as the mushrooms, I have been plucking them out like weeds but unfortunately this removes a clump of soil each time but then I am concerned if I just let them stay I will be inundated due to more spores etc. Lately they seem to pop up right next to the stems of the existing plants, don't know if this is a bad thing or not. I will take pics in the next few days once the mushrooms are bigger and hopefully you can give me some kind of advice. I considered that these might be edible but I would never attempt it and being that I try to garden as organically as possible, fungicide is not an option. I thought about removing this top layer and dumping it elsewhere in the yard.
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Hey Sandra, First an foremost, i feel for you, I was in your same shoes, just moved in my house a few years ago.. It's tough and very mind tiring, but hang in there, the fruits of your labor is well worth it.. Just teaching the kiddos, and spending time with them is priceless! You mentioned no till lasanga gardening.. I do no till and It works very very well! Some will tell you it's hogwash, and every situation calls for offstage measures, which is true, but you can almost always do a small garden no till without to many problems.. I think your off to a good start right there my friend! Don't worry about not planning ahead to much, you still have a few weeks to plan.. You can almost plan to much! Trust me, I'm a perfectionist and I get so carried away in plant spacing for maximum yield,etc, i let the whole growing season go by.. It's better off just putting plants in and learning as it progresses, instead of not growing anything at all.. Your concerned about cross pollination.. I assume your growing heirlooms and trying to save seed.. You really don't have to much to worry about for cross pollination.. Just bag the flowers before they open to ensure isolation of pollen... I do something very similar tonkasanga gardening, but I don't actually layer it up to compost, I actually unfinished compost, then just some mulch.. Here's what I do, -cardboard the grass -pile compost/soil on the cardboard -mulch -plant Don't get to overwhelmed, worst comes timeless just throw some seeds down, any gardens better than none! Please, take it easy, you probably got enough work with the new house.. Don't worry to much... Gardening should be a fun hobby, not a chore. Joe
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If your soil is too hard to dig you won't be able to plant for awhile. Perhaps later this summer. However, the sooner you start the sooner the soil will improve. One important thing to remember is to keep it moist as the decomposition process requires that. I made that mistake with my lasagna garden so it took longer. However the soil is now really nice and soft so it does work. You may have read that people plant directly in the lasagna material but IMO that requires adding some soil in the planting hole and if you can't dig at all in the soil in that area your plants won't be able to easily grow their roots in it either. If you are not growing food crops and have a source of manure you could certainly use it in a lasagna bed. It can even be used fresh as that will speed decomposition. One thing people are sometimes concerned about is the depth of a lasagna bed. It will settle about 50% so if you build an 8" layer it will decompose to about 4". If this area is in a prominent place in your yard and you want it to look neater you might build a few layers of the material suggested above, cover with some layers of newspaper, then place a layer of mulch on top. It will discourage weeds, moisture will be retained, and the soil organisms will be at work. You could place some potted plants on top of the mulch this year for a more decorative bed or even bury them in the lasagna material.
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t-man: I use the thinnest cheapest roofing felt/paper I can buy. This time I covered the paper with about a foot of ground leaves. I am lucky to have a fellow bring me about 25 bags each friday during the "leaf" season. Which, part of which, is Feb and March here. This area has millions of escarpment live oak trees and they loose their leaves in March. The amount he brings would take me years to collect. This fellow does commercial lawn/grounds maintenance. He lives near me and gives them to me for free. By doing that he saves the dump fees. Perhaps if you drive around, you can find that type of person. I also use mulched grass clippings. Any thing that will decompose and feed the soil. Three years ago I bought several yards of compost to put on top of the felt/paper. Then covered that with mulch. The only reason I did not do that this year is due to tight funds. It makes it so much easier on my back to not have to dig a whole bed. There have been questions regarding the possibility of the paper being toxic. But I doublt those big fat worms would be in there if it were. There are also baby worms.
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reg_pnw7
16 years ago
Mushrooms are what's breaking down your lasagna bed. ditto for the fungus gnats. This is exactly why I would not plant in a lasagna bed less than a year old.

The fungus won't hurt your plants, you'll probably do more damage trying to remove the shrooms than the fungus will do if left alone. It will continue to grow so long as it has food and water but once all the lasagna stuff has been broken down it'll go away. Not before.

The gnats like wet organic matter so if you can let it dry out between waterings you'll cut down their populations.
herboil
16 years ago
The mushroom are actually really good for your bed!
just clip them at the base with scisors( don't pull them out, it can damage the mycellium network[which is not an issue unless they are a medicinal or edible shroom])
Add the mushrooms to your compost piles and the process will start over all again.

Let me know if the soap water works.

Also, I'm not sure if you've heard of the method that uses water soaked with cigareetes, just a few, as a natural pesticide.

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herboil

ruphisrenonv
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Lasagne garden challenge

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herboil

ruphisrenonvOriginal Author

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ruphisrenonv
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