1.)You could cover it or you can turn some of it into the top layer of soil, especially since you are not looking to add additional soil. If you do this, you could possibly start planting this year.

You could also see if your neighbors have compostable materials.

2.) You didn't mention what you are intending to plant. Amendments to soil are really plant specific. "Herbs" is a HUGE category. What do you expect from the plants in the garden?

By the way, many native plants would need very little amendments.

3.)Stone and slate would last a long time a long time as stepping stones. Winter freezing an heaving will make your stones uneven in time unless you take time (and money!) to lay level layers of stone and sand to set your stepping stones in. Of course you can just lay them as is without the other layers and every so often, relevel the blocks.

4.) Take a can of marking paint and just mark out the type of swirl you want. It can be as swirly or as gentle as you wish. This will be more pleasing to you than any mathematical equation to create the perfect spiral.

FataMorgana

It will probably deteriorate faster if you let the rain get to it. I think it might break down faster if you could sprinkle a bit of purchased humus and then some dry leaves over the grass. Hopefully the humus would have some micro-organisms in it that would speed up the process.

When I did my last lasagnia bed, I planted it in tomatoes the first year to shade out any surviving weeds and condition the soil. I had read somewhere that tomatoes helped to prepare the soil for other things.

I was short on soil, too, but I had enough soil saved up from other plantings or purchased to give each tomato plant about a half quart of soil to cover its roots, and I made certain to dig down deeply enough so that each tomato plant's roots touched the origional soil at the bottom of the bed. I used purchased tomato plants with stems long enough to reach through all the layers and still have their leaves above-ground. By having their roots so deep, there was less chance they would die of thirst in the upper, undecomposed layers, and their bottom roots had the oportunity to penetrate the preexisting soil. My soil is heavy clay, so there's a lot of nourishment in just a little soil here.

The other thing is to make certain the bed stays moist enough to keep breaking down.

Herbs might possibly do ok the first year, but tomato plants are larger and less expensive. If you planted indeterminate tomato plants and have full sun they could be planted fairly far apart and still shade out any weeds.

It takes awhile for compost to break down, and then, for good mixing with soil, you really need the earthworms to have time to move things around a bit. I suspect some herbs might be more likely to have rot if planted in the situation you describe if the soil isn't given time to refine itself.

Even tomatoes will not do as well in such raw soil, but if you did get some production going, maybe you could sell some and save the income for additional soil, herbs, and mulch!

:o)

For drawing your spiral, you could simply sprinkle limestone fertilizer or another white powder, such as flour; they use powdered chalk to mark sports fields.

Thanks for the replies so far!

My soil seems rich in earthworms & pill bugs, so I'm lucky. Haven't yet received my soil analysis from the Extension Service here. Meanwhile, we've had frequent rains these past weeks; still, thanks for the reminder to keep the ground moist.

Topsoil is an expensive commodity in my neck of the woods, about $150 for 2-3" depth for my circle's size. And I've inquired within a 30-mi radius, with no private compost piles going. Bagged compost is expensive and, again, I'm somewhat cash poor, having bought the property clear last year. Since my 3/4 acre is mostly lawn, I still need to allocate some funds for plants.

The tomatoes might be a possibility, although I've already created a mini tomato/ cucumber/ tomatillo/ marigold patch along a border.

As to what sort of herbs, I'm open to ideas. Prefer drawfs or bushier plants. Parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, possibly chives, & I'm not sure what else. No dill, since I have bronze fennel. No mint, though I'm planting catnip elsewhere.

This is a developing project, much of it improvised since I have no local feedback except from neighbors who believe in tilling -- period. This property came w/ 8 hostas, 2 trees, & trees down by the river that borders it. And I dislike grass. I have a front embankment that cries out for shape & color, & I just had the crumbling walkway leading to it & the hazardous steps redone. So my discretionary funds become tight.

Sorry for the long reply. I have no physical garden community so I hope to find a virtual one on this site.

Thanks again,
Nica

The forum on composting could probably give you the best advice, as far as soil goes. The only other thing I can think of is to cover everything with sand. Most towns have a stockpile for various purposes, and they must get it somewhere. Most herbs like good drainage, especially the Mediterranean ones, and you will be needing to keep your compost moist for awhile. Sand might be less expensive than compost or mulch, and if you have rich soil it should make it even more tillable, eventually, I would think...especially if there is much clay in it.

I didn't try herbs the first year in my Lasagnia patch, so I will defer any herb recommendations to someone who has tried doing that.

I would like to caution about use of sand. Our town has free sand for winter use but it has salt mixed in it.
I would not place stones or tiles on lawn. I think your path may have to wait a bit until you can put down several inches of sand although from experience I have had oregano thyme spread into a lawn and take over. This gets a few inches high so it might not make a good path groundcover. A creeping thyme would be terrific but I have had clover and grass compete with creeping thyme.
Last year was our first year with a lasagna garden. It was built the previous summer but topped with composted horse manure last spring. Everything grew very well but nasturtiums planted along one edge were mostly huge leaves. The rest of the bed was traditional veggies and lettuce. In our area there are ads for free manure on Craigslist. Some is aged. Some fresh. You might also join FreeCycle and solicit compost materials or even soil. You never know when someone else wants to get rid of something you need.

In digging through my herb & horticulture bookcase today for other reasons, I came across my copy of The Medicine Wheel Garden by E. Barrie Kavasch. Even though it focuses on medicine plants/medicinal herbs, it may inspire you.

You may also wish to see if your library has a copy of The Healing Garden by Gay Search. It may also be a good resource for you in building a healing space.

FataMorgana

If you are wanting to plant this year you will need to buy some bags of soil to make pockets of soil around each planting; i.e. think of your composting lasagna layers as a "pot" and open out an appropriate sized "pot" in the ground to insert your soil and the new plant. As the lasagna layers rot in they'll become just more dirt in the area, and the plants will grow and spread out. In fact, for the plants that creep and spread it may be good to buy this plants plus a few bags of soil and get them in the ground. This way you'll have started and that's satisfying AND your creeping plants will spread and be ready for dividing when the whole bed is ready for planting. In your present state the lasagna bed won't be ready until fall. (No sense planting herbs in the summer anyway)

When I started my new front bed it was a heavy layer of mulch (8 - 14") over red clay. I bought the first groupings of plants, opened the mulch, loosened up the clay a bit, added a purchased soil/compost mix, and planted my plants. Over the years I've added more mulch and more plants and the original plants have spread out. I don't think it looks much like an empty 2000 sq ft of mulch anymore.
{{gwi:888017}}

If you live anywhere near the mountains of NC drop me an email and come by for some herb starts.

Granite, that is just the most serene, lovely herb garden...absolutely beautiful! The tint of the pink flowers is a perfect compliment to the house and herbs....

:o)