Lasagna question

15 years ago

I plan on planting lots of crape myrtle trees in the next few months and was thinking of prepping the areas using the lasagna method. The trees will be planted about 8 feet away from each other, along my fenceline.

I have access to lots of cardboard and newspaper, but no organic mulch, unless I buy it. My compost pile is not big enough to give me what I need for these areas. What should I use to put on top of the cardboard and newspaper? Can I use regular dirt from my property? I can't use kitchen scraps, as my dogs will dig in the pile and I already add the scraps to my compost bin.

Thanks.

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Comments (8)

sunnyside1
15 years ago
That just sounds beautiful. I planted some shrubs outside a fence last week and had essentially the same problem. So I used the cardboard and went to the Public Works Dept. where they have free grass clippings and got a bunch. I can always get more if I need them there. Mulched about 5 inches on top of the cardboard. Bushes are doing fine.
Good luck.
Sunny
Belgianpup
15 years ago
Sunny is leading you in the right direction. Someone, somewhere, has some kind of mulch you can use. Are there any food-processing plants around you? To avoid paying landfill fees, they sometimes sell it by the truckload to farmers as stock feed (silage, I think they call it). They even load it for you.

Call your local Cooperative Extension Office and ask them for suggestions. Some places collect waste and make compost in long, tall windrows.

Sue
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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
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Here is my two cents worth. Last fall/winter I carefully put down layers and layers of overlapped newspaper. On top of that I put shredded tree trimmings and on top of that, manure and then straw. The bermuda is nicer there than in the adjacent lawn. I'm not sure if that says something about how bad my soil was to start with, or if it's a failure of the newspaper. In any case, I will roundup this fall. This summer, I had a great crop of sunflowers under the bird feeders, where the seed fell on the prepared area last winter. Following that, a nice stand of moonflower vines that I seeded climbed the sunflower stalks to reach the deck railing. So, a success in terms of getting organic matter and fertility. A failure in terms of controlling bermuda.
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My best guess would be that they most likely will not punch through the cardboard. I say that because I accidently buried some of the wife's cannas last year under layers of just hay, compost, and leaves and they didn't come back this spring. But it all depends on how thick the layers and how much the cardboard softens and decomposes before they are ready to come up. Multiple layers of cardboard as many use to suppress weeds beneath lasagna beds would certainly make it difficult if not impossible for them. If you want to save the cannas, I'd dig up the bulbs and transplant them above the cardboard. Dave
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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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led_zep_rules
15 years ago
Suggestions for what to pile on the cardboard or newspaper would include quantities of: used coffee grounds from Starbucks or other cafes; bags of corn husks from grocery stores where they have corn on sale (usually they put a garbage can near the corn); other people's bagged yard waste; old produce from a grocery store or outdoor market; and/or animal manure (you live in Texas, must have some cows or horses someplace?)

Whatever you can come up with, it will both improve the soil where you will be planting, and provide an easier planting situation for you later on for the trees. Good luck, just be creative. I just learned from a friend a place in a nearby town where I can supposedly get free compost. I make my own in large quantities but don't like to give it away, so I will use this in planters at the local homeless shelter where I am about to plant lots of large containers.

Marcia
Kimmsr
15 years ago
Are there tree trimmers working around you?
Does your local government pick up and store the leaves that fall every year?
What do people do with the grass clippings when they mow?
lisatx04
Original Author
15 years ago
Here in Texas, a lot of the trees are ornamental or pine. Lots of pine trees. No leaves that fall. No tree trimmers around, at least not where I have seen. Grass clippings get thrown away and picked up by the waste management truck, that brings them to the landfill.

I do have a neighbor who gives me his clippings on Saturdays, but it is only one bag. I still have the bag from a few days ago, but I am thinking the smell will be horrible (been there, done that!!).

Where I live, there is no recycle program. Our community has tried to start one up, but our HOA won't go for it. We are hitting roadblocks where ever we turn. Unfortunate, I know. I moved from a state that had a lot of recycling programs, so this is killing me!! Sorry, off topic now.

I'll wait until next week and go with the grass clippings. Thanks everyone!
led_zep_rules
15 years ago
Wow, in WIsconsin it is illegal for people to put yard waste into a landfill. Everyone is also required by law to recycle. Not that everybody does, mind you, but hey, makes me proud of my state.

About the bag of grass clippings or whatever from the neighbor, OPEN THE BAG. You are asking for trouble to keep it sealed up. A little air will do wonders for it. About the horses and cows, they must exist somewhere near you? Also, everybody eats, right, so they have stores with produce departments. Be persistent, be creative, the organic materials are out there.

Marcia
treeinnj
15 years ago
Lisa - double check w/your "landfill" - check w/your town & county municipality - there might be a grass/leaves pile and/or a compost pile and/or a mulch pile that you might be unaware of.

I was. And mine has it all free from individual cars - but trucks have to pay for it (for mulch & compost). If I wanted to, I could've driven past the compost pile (made in windrows sp? - long tall piles - w/a machine to aerate - out of the grass & leaves that are dumped) & picked a bunch of grass clippings out of the grass & leaves dumping pile.

I was quite surprised as, although I've seen "recycle" literature around town about our county munic's recylcing program & pickups, I'd never seen anything about the leaves/grass, compost & mulch giveaways.

All the Best, Tree
treeinnj
15 years ago
Lisa - double check w/your "landfill" - check w/your town & county municipality - there might be a grass/leaves pile and/or a compost pile and/or a mulch pile that you might be unaware of.

I was. And mine has it all free from individual cars - but trucks have to pay for it (for mulch & compost). If I wanted to, I could've driven past the compost pile (made in windrows sp? - long tall piles - w/a machine to aerate - out of the grass & leaves that are dumped) & picked a bunch of grass clippings out of the grass & leaves dumping pile.

I was quite surprised as, although I've seen "recycle" literature around town about our county munic's recylcing program & pickups, I'd never seen anything about the leaves/grass, compost & mulch giveaways.

All the Best, Tree

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sunnyside1

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sunnyside1

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