I did something very similar at the beginning of the year. For my final layer I used cypress mulch (my last time, even though I love how it smells). Having the mulch on top made the bed prettier until I got the plants in, and it has broken down very quickly.

My bed was about 10 inches deep when I was finished layering, and it is now down to about 4 inches. I wouldn't do another layer of newspaper, just because I would worry it might not break down quickly enough. Although, now that I say that, it sounds like a silly concern. If you are going to let it sit for a month or so before you plant, you probably don't have to water in each layer. Mother Nature should be helping you out in that department.

Good luck - the tomatoes I manage to get before the deer get them are fantastic.

Jennifer

Update: I made the laagna bed like I stated, 2 week ago. Didn't know if it was doing anything, as I really haven't touched it. I just went out to plant a basil plant, and I realized there wasn't enough layers. So I moved the layers over where I wanted to put the plant, and went through the paper quite easily. I moved the grass where I was going to put the plant, covered it up with compost and the layers I moved aside, and watered it in.

Was I supposed to do anything else? Hopefully it will grow. Tomatoes will be planted in the next week or so.

You will see how it goes and decide if it works well enough to do the same things next season or if you want to make any modifications to your methods.

More layers making the bed deeper is usually better but you work with what you got.

Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

Here's an update...basil in the lasagna garden is bushy and growing fast!! Basil planted in a container is not nearly as full. Planted my tomatoes a few days ago. With them, I just moved the layers, put the plant down, surrounded with compost then pushed the layers back around the plants.

Hoping they take off like the basil did. Would love to have homegrown tomatoes!! Oh, I gave my sister some basil leaves and she said she has never seen basil leaves so big!! Must be that homemade compost!!

I'm always interested in hearing what was wrong with the soil that requires planting in compost on top of it rather than in the soil that Ma Nature provided.

Wayne

Wayne, I can answer your question in regard to my soil. In Northeast Wisconsin, we are blessed with an amazing clay soil that is cement-like and full of rocks when dry and sticky and in need of a potter's wheel when wet. There is nothing as disheartening as hearing the metallic "ting" my spade makes when trying to dig through this "soil."

I have been amending a vegetable garden area (20' x 20') for nine years. This is the first year that I think I actually have "tilth." The soil is brown, it is crumbly, it holds together when squeezed, and crumbles when poked. Directly outside the boundary of my vegetable garden, the soil is greyish-reddish-brownish clay.

I wanted more area to plant vegetables and start a new flower bed. The clay is awful to try to dig into and till. I can't plant root vegetables because they can't grow in the clay. (Garlic, radishes, and carrots all grow to look like misshapen midget gumballs.) Lasagna gardening allows me to start planting all these things right away -- on top of the existing lawn. For flowers, like Delphs, that are heavy feeders, the lasagna method creates a soil that feeds their needs and as the layers break down, the soil underneath becomes softer and less full of clay.

My tomatoes, basil, carrots, flowers, melons, beans, and peas in the lasagna beds have been amazing! My basil leaves have been as big as my hand. The same plants in my in-ground garden are healthy and fine, too, but the same plants in the lasagna beds are much larger and producing more abundantly. The lasagna beds are like super-vitamins for the plants in them.

This is just my own experience, but I will definitely continue with my raised garden beds as well as my in-ground garden. I think the lasagna method is well worth it for the kind of clay soil I live on.

Cheers,
Joanna