Four inches really isn't very much. When finished rotting it will probably not be noticeably higher than the ground around it.

I really think that any organic material added to the soil is good. But for lasagna, more would be better. I don't know where you live, but it's getting to be leaf season here. Leaves make wonderful compost and lasagna.

Karen

Last fall, my garden was covered with layers of grass and leaves to a depth of about three feet. By spring, it was about 6 inches deep. I don't know if that's typical or not, but I think you'll need more layers to get a good lasagna garden going. However, I wouldn't stress too much. The layers don't have to be piled up all in one day. You can add more until it snows if you want.

Since it's a school yard, I would suggest that you ask whoever does the groundskeeping to dump a three or four inches of grass clippings on there. Also ask the secretaries and other teachers to keep their shredded and waste paper for you to mix in there.

Paper/cardboard is never a problem. The grass clippings are hard to come by since they mulch mow them, but I live next door and can drag my own clippings over.

I read a few articles on lasagna gardening today and came away more confused. I started under the impression that I would be left with soil in the spring and that I would be dropping the seeds in nice dark earth. But then I read about planting into non-decomposed stuff, as though people piled up the leaves and grass and then dropped some seeds in a hole. How would THAT work? Even if you just pushed it aside and put a flower (from a nursery) in there, would there be enough bulk to hold it in place, or enough soil for it to get its nutrients? Our goal is to plant corn, beans and squash. How would I go about doing that lasagna style?

Thanks so much!

Just a suggestion off the top of my head...

If you could afford a couple bags of compost, or if your town has a composting facility you might get it for free, then spread a layer of finished compost on the top of the materials and plant the seeds into that.

I have planted straight into compost before and had good results.

Some other places might be an ecohouse or some sort of "green" group in your town. I'm sure any of these groups would willingly give you finished compost in order to help teach the kids.

What town/city do you live in? Maybe someone here can suggest a group or facility near you that would drop some off for you.

"How would THAT work? Even if you just pushed it aside and put a flower (from a nursery) in there, would there be enough bulk to hold it in place, or enough soil for it to get its nutrients?"

It'll work fine for the squash and beans, but probably not so well for the corn. Some people add a little soil where they plant the seeds, but I had some uncomposted pumpkins that I tossed on top of the layers of grass and leaves and the seeds sprouted and grew like wildfire.

The corn would likely fall over pretty quickly if planted directly in the partially decomposed lasagna material. With our winds (often in excess of 100 MPH) I've never had much luck with corn anyway, but I would think it would need to be planted in firm soil to be able to stand upright.

Lasagna beds can happen in phases. Ask the cafeteria to save cans they empty to feed the kids...send each one home with a can to fill with coffee grounds and veggie/fruit peelings...dump them all in. Call landscaping companies and ask for bales of hay/straw they don't use...spread that out on top. Layering can take all winter if need be...and yes...the uncomposted part can be parted and seeds planted in the composted part beneath. It can be a perpetual thing...adding compostables every year and keeping the bed growing. Worms will work the compost into the sandy soil below, and even if the compost shrinks...you can keep adding more "stuff" each year.

^ I agree, the corn would be top heavy for this...

even one of my pepper plants is 'wobbly' in the lasagna garden i have right now. (healthy, but wobbly)

Hey there,
Another thing you can do is ask the kids to have a jack o lantern smashing party on the lasagna bed after halloween is over. The only catch is if there are leftover pumpkin seeds still in the jack o lanterns, you'll grow pumpkins in the spring.

Also, is there a nearby starbucks or coffee shop or donut shop to get coffee grounds for your lasagna bed?

Also, how about waste products from the school cafeteria? Do they have egg shells or other waste that you can add to lasagna bed? Any vegetable scraps, etc?

If I were you, Id try to add 2-3 or more feet of material because, as previously mentioned, it will decompose to mere inches when its time to plant.

Have fun!

Perhaps I will plant the corn in the soil surrounding the lasagna garden and just mix in some of the amended soil with each seed. I think the rest will be ok.

I love the idea about the pumpkins. We can clean out most of the seeds and go from there. And even if we get some sprouts, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. In fact, we tried to grow some pumpkins unsuccessfully this year anyway.

If (when) the pumpkins sprout, be careful about how many of them you let grow. They can very quickly take over the entire garden unless it's a very large garden.

I compost pumpkins, but without the seeds. I just throw the pumpkins onto concrete to break open, scrape out most or all seeds with a trowel, and trash the seeds. Then I might chop the pumpkin shell into smaller pieces (if it's a big pumpkin) with a shovel. Already seedless jack-0-lanterns are easy.

The 3rd graders probably would love a pumpkin smashin' class project. They could collect pumpkins from neighbors and you'd have a lot of pumpkins.

Isn't there a singing group called "Smashing Pumpkins"? Background music.

Karen

Not to throw a wet lasagna blanket but...

On the school grounds, or in your yard even, one principle would be not to leave kitchen scraps out in the open. So I might not have a kid dump his can full of rotten potates and orange peels out there for the varmints. A home lasagna-garden maker would time the layers to be sure those items could be buried under more inert materials. So, getting donated bags of shredded leaves or actual compost would be great.

Another idea is shredded paper--THAT might be something you could get from homes or the school office--but needs to be wetted down or covered up so doesn't fly away and litter.

Also, be sure you understand the grass clipping situation --avoid it if it contains seeds or sprigs of invasive lawn grass, because the purpose of the cardboard was to smother unwanted grass & weeds.

I am already up a creek without a paddle in regards to the weed seeds, as I used grass from around the garden, and it was mostly weed. Hopefully they weren't seeding at the time that I cut it. From this point onward, I will probably use grass clippings from my house, as there are very few weeds there.

Toss out the pumpkin seeds in the trans!?!?!?!? They are so good toasted!

Anyway, I have planted corn in a thin lasagna bed, some of them didn't stay upright very well. Pumpkins, squash, etc, love growing in compost though. Beans would love to climb the corn provided it can stay upright.