I don't see any Nitrogen in your mix. Is there any chance you could bring in a truckload of manure, or leaves, or seaweed, or something? Any kind of grain animal feed can be used also. A topping of chipped up trees would probably be free, and it would have some nitrogen from the leaves.

I would agree with Ken that your layers are low on nitrogen and you'll need to find an additional N source besides the coffee grounds to have an effective, healthy bed.

As to the "mulch" part of the question - normally with lasagna beds the mulch used for the top layer should be something that contributes to the bed quality. In other words, the goal with lasagna beds is to make them effective, not "pretty" so anything added to them needs to contribute. ;)

None of the 3 choices you list will contribute to the viability of the bed - they are just decorative. Straw, hay, shredded leaves, even burlap (the interbay mulch) would be a more effective top layer. Hay, if you can get it would also add nitrogen to your mix. But if you have to use one of the 3 you listed for some reason, then I'd say the mini fir bark would be the most beneficial of the three.

You might want to do a search on this forum on "mulch" to review some of the many discussions available on the most beneficial mulches.

Dave

This web site might help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lasagna Gardening 101

I started my first lasagna garden about a month ago. You don't need to add a second layer of newspaper, it won't really serve any purpose. That is according to the books I have read.

Otherwise, listen to what the others said, add nitrogen and a beneficial top layer. Make sure you water it and you will be good to go come planting time!

Thanks for the input, all. This was the help I needed.

I was afraid the USG wouldn't be enough nitrogen. Not many leaves falling right now in the neighborhood and we don't have any plants left in the yard. Most people in the neighborhood use chemicals on the lawn so I can't get clippings from them but I'll ask around.

Manure would probably be the easiest but oh the smell! The neighbors will hate me for that. How long does the smell stick around?

The top layer is going to be tough. I don't think I can get away with hay on top in the front yard. In the back, maybe so.

I'm really leery of getting clippings from just anywhere because you have no idea where they came from.

okay - so I've been searching and reading more posts. I only have access to bagged manure that I can get from the garden places. As long as it DOESN'T say aged on there, can I use it as a green? Or does it have to be fresh off the farm for that?

No you don't want to use fresh off the farm in a garden. Many studies show that it isn't safe to use fresh manures around food products although some still insist on doing it for some reason.

You want only well-aged or composted (they are 2 different things) manures and they shouldn't have any objectionable odor if the bags have been stored correctly.

So bags of composted manure that you can buy locally can be used in the bed - they won't say "aged" on them, just composted, meaning other items were added to it to compost it.

But it still isn't an ideal source of nitrogens simply because it has already been composted and some of the nitrogen lost. If you don't want to use hay (not straw, very different things), which does make an very attractive mulch (see pic below) and simply can't get grass clippings then go to a farm and feed store and check out the local prices on alfalfa meal or pellets, cottonseed meal, or other high nitrogen meals to use.

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Dave

Manure, even fresh manure, will only smell as long as it is exposed to the air so the nutrients in it can escape. Many years ago I did plunk some fresh manure down on a planting bed and the covered that with a good layer of shredded leaves and the odor was almost immediately not noticeable. Of course that depends on the thickness of the cover material too and if you put down what most people think is adequate, and inch or two, that will do nothing about that odor.
However, it is not a good idea to use manure, fresh or rotted, in a garden until it has been composted, even a Lasagna garden and especially if you will be growing food crops in that bed.

I probably wouldn't recommend the extra layers of newspaper between the other layers in your mix unless you are talking about shredded paper to act as a "mulch" material.

I would recommend the bottom layers of newspaper/cardboard. (Then if you really want to perhaps some of your clay/granite but you really may not want/need that in truth) Then whatever mulch material, something with nitrogen (alfalfa pellets are good and you don't need huge amounts of them) Some of the composted manure, more mulch etc.

I know many people say wood mulch or wood chips arn't so good but if you have them mixed with strong enough greens and some compost and are kept moist, they break down too.

Are you planning to grow food in these beds? When are you going to plant in them? There are compelling reasons not to use fresh manure on food beds but these are mostly time related. If you put down fresh manure in the mix, you should not plant food cops in there for quite some time. The amount of time depends on the type of food crop and how long till harvest.

I'm guilty of putting grass clippings into my compost and around my garden. Sure, some neighbors probably do weed and feed their lawns but I suspect that they don't do it right before mowing and most of the possible residues are going to be taken care of in the composting process. That is just me and other people will have their own comfort zones.

If you need another source of nitrogen, I know one that is free (actually better than free since it might save you money on the water bill) I know some people will think eww yuck, but urine is a great source of nitrogen (and other nutrients) for the garden, compost, and lasagna bed. If you are worried about pathogens, just bottle it for a few weeks which will kill off any that a healthy person is likely to be carrying. Granted, perhaps this doesn't count as certified organic practice but it works very well. Urine is a strong enough green to do a good job on materiasl like wood chips, sawdust, leaves, paper, cardboard etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

Straw would work in the backyard but in the midst of our neighborhood and our entire front yard, not such a great idea. :)

No food is going to be grown in any of these. I don't do food plants except for herbs and those are in containers.

I do need to build a lot of mounds and dispose of 5 yards of decomposed granite so that why I figuered to do some layering.

Thanks again to everyone for the many suggestions and the great education.

Bagged manure will do fine as a green. Doesn't matter how they label it. A little priceier when it's by the bag maybe, but it'll work. If you buy manure from a farmer or something you just ask for stuff thats aged some. These people tend to haul it out of the barn daily and dump it in a pile. Periodically these piles get picked up and moved somewhere else. You just need one of the older piles. If there's a vegetarian restaurant around you could ask for a day or twos worth of kitchen scraps. The coffee grounds from a Starbucks or Dunkin' Doughnuts will work too. You just have to ask nicely.

Some cities will give residents mulch, or sell it at a reasonable price. In my town it's double shredded mixed woods, well aged before I get it from them. It looks good as a top layer on a lasagna bed...you'd never guess what a mess it's hiding! I've found that it breaks down in a year or two.