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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Can you plant veggies in new lasagna bed?

16 years ago

Hi all:

I'm sorry, but I cannot get this clear, and I feel I must ask. The short version is:

* can I plant a veggie garden with tomatoes, peppers, and the like in a newly layered lasagna bed,OR

*do I have to wait until next year, OR

*can I plant if I add some soil to the planting hole?

I just started a lasagna bed in my veggie garden plot this spring. It was actually about 6 weeks ago, and I layered newspaper, shredded leaves, Starbucks grinds, alfalfa meal, and some lawn clippings (which were half green, half thatch, to be honest). I am now ready to mow the lawn and get a LOT more grass clippings, bags of composted manure, and add bags of shredded dry leaves we got this spring. (We had an early freeze and didn't get the lawn raked until early March!) I do have some peat moss (see my earlier thread) and I have alfalfa meal I can sprinkle in between layers as well.

My original impression was I could plant directly in a lasagna bed with no problem. I have the Pat Lanza books, and she is a little vague, but impiles you can. I've been reading on here and looking for hints, and I find a number of posts that say "if it's fresh layers, add some soil to the planting hole." I can do that, and I will if it is the way to ensure my tomatoes will grow this year. However, I thought I could just pop the plants in and they would be fine. Can anyone please help me with this?

I'm sorry, I am probably re-discussing a topic that has been patiently described and explained a thousand times, but I just cannot find the information and I have searched a lot. I don't start my veggies from seeds; we buy from a local farm, and my neighbors and I would like to split some flats of tomatoes and such. I'm afraid I won't have a place to put them if I can't put them in the lasagna layers. I guess I could try and see what happens, but I hate to kill the poor plants needlessly; I'd rather give them a fighting chance.

Thanks very much for any feedback,

Emmie

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Comments (6)

albertar
16 years ago
Emmie
Yes you can plant right away, if you feel better about putting some soil in for the plants you can do that too. I think it will turn out great. As the plants grow continue to add organic matter but not right on the stems of the plants. Water well, and you'll be fine.
Alberta
emmie9999
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Alberta! They all went in today, so we will see how it goes. When I put in the tomatoes, I pulled back the layers all they way to the newspaper so I could bury them nice and deep. The first layers, which started weeks ago, are still nice and damp, and everything smells earthy. I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes!

Emmie
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shelleykj
16 years ago
Hi! I just made my first lasanga garden for tomatoes this year also. Most of it sat for only a couple of weeks before the weather was nice enough to plant. I only had stuff layered about 4-6" deep rather than Lanza's 18-24" suggestion. Well most of my tomatoes are planted now and seem to be doing just fine! Have 8 more to plant this week. So I say "Go For It" and good luck!
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emmie9999
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Shelley! They survived their first night, so I have hope ;-) Actually, everything looks very green and perked up nicely. We had rain last night, and a very overcast day until around 2 PM, so I think that helped.

The neighbors have gotten into this with me, and I got a whole bunch of grass clippings on my driveway today. I didn't have the heart to tell them I didn't need them anymore, so I found room for them on the potato patch I am lasagana-ing, and put the rest in the compost bin.

Emmie
led_zep_rules
16 years ago
I put some soil around my tomato plants just because my lasagna layers are not well mixed/even (hubby went a bit gonzo with bags of leaves in some places) and I wanted to give them a solid area to grow in initially. Also, many people say not to use pure compost for growing, to add a little soil or minerals or what have you, so that is a way to mix in a little real soil in a way that is sure to be accessible to the plants. In my other lasagna beds I never did that, although I usually spread a very thin layer of soil or finished compost on top. This one is so huge I hadn't gotten around to that step yet.

Marcia
emmie9999
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi Marcia:

What you mentioned about the soil and/or compost on top makes a lot of sense. My top layer was composted manure, and when I was planting, some kinda fell into each space. The layers kind of mix themselves up that way, in a sense.

Everything is still green and healthy, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! it sounds too soon, maybe, but the last time I planted in lousy soil, the plants were dead or dying before the week was up.

Emmie

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