I tend not to be a precisely by-the-book person, but in general lasagna gardening, or the same approximate thing by any number of other names I think, is really excellent for this area. (The first I heard of a similar idea was years ago when Ruth Stout put out several books, the one that sticks in my mind being 'How to have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back'.) In our heat and humidity organic material breaks down very, very fast. A lot of people add a lot of chemical fertilizer which helps it break down faster and tends to discourage worms and other soil creatures that build fertile soil with a nice crumbly texture instead of one like concrete. This area where we live used to be cane fields, and when we moved here the soil was like pavement and even when it was moist we could only dig down a little ways before we hit an impermeable layer we learned was 'plow pan'. After dumping any kind of leaves, grass clippings, and anything else organic we could find at least twice a year we finally began to have good soil. I don't think it matters too much what kind of leaves you use, and you don't need to be particularly careful about quantities and layers--just dump hay, straw, pine straw, oak leaves, grass clippings--anything you can get, and at least three or four inches deep. No need to till it in--the worms will do that for you. No need (or very little, anyway) to weed. Needs less water in periods of drought, and soaks up the extra when it rains heavily (when will that happen?) And they even get rid of plow pan!

I discovered lasagna gardening after trying to till some beds and found that tree roots ran all through my yard. The first ones I did in my front yard. I used a garden hose and laid out the beds then covered the area about 6 sheets thick with newspaper, wet the newspaper and added coffee grounds that I had been saving. On top of this I added grass clippings and leaves. I did this in the summer, by spring, the earthworms had done thier thing. The beds were almost like working in potting soil. In the backyard where I grow most of my roses, I dig the holes and amend them, plant the roses, then lay down the newspaper etc. around them, instant rose beds. I'm now in the process of adding companion plants to the rose beds. In the fall, all of my leaves continue to go into these beds. Drainage is never a problem because the earthworms keep these beds constantly "tilled".

Betty

Thanks you both for the excellent advice. I too live by sugar cane fields they are all around here. There is some type of hard soil underneath too, probably is that plow pan. I am definitely gonna try this method of gardening. I like the idea of shaping it with a garden hose. I love the idea of attracting earthworms. All beneficial insects are welcome in my garden :) There aren't too many lizards around here I think the cattle egrets must eat them. Thanks again~

SJN

I am putting in several beds around the back yard and am using the lasagna method to fill them with good organic soil. I have spent all summer collecting grass and leaves and other garden debris from the neighbors and from neighborhoods located along my commute to and from work. I have pretty much followed the plan mentioned by other posters. I use two layers of damp cardboard boxes left over from our last move instead of newspaper but it does the same thing. I also have been adding a sprinkling of dried molasses over the top of each new addition of organic matter. I started doing this as an experiment because I heard that unsulphered molasses will jump start the microbes that "cook the lasagna". So far it has been a success. I did an experiment where I treated one area with molasses and left the other one alone. I then watered both equally over the next several weeks and the pile that had the molasses sprinkled on top was breaking down about twice as fast as the control pile. My unscientific means of measuring this was the rate at which the pile of grass and leaves "compressed" due to the material being broken down. An added benefit of the molasses is that it has kept the fire ants out of the newly forming beds while I get them filled.

Matt

That hard pan is know as 'gumbo' soil; when wet its wet when dry it cracks.
A paper weed block topped with the organic matter will do ya wonders. Stops the soil from going through extremes, makes future digging much easier and increase the fertility of your soil.
Mike

We got that Gumbo here in Houston too. I use newpaper layers in areas I want to keep weeds out of. Just make sure it is extremely wet when you put it down. I also layer grass clippings and then mulch, more grass etc. works well and builds up the soil.

Good suggestions, lol @ gumbo soil - that's a good name for it! Where do you get dried unsulphured molasses? I have only seen the syrupy kind in the stores. I told my grandmother about lasagna gardening because she loves to garden but her back hurts her so they are going to try and create some raised lasagna beds where she lives in AZ.

sjn

Sorry for the confusion. The unsulphured molasses I was using was in the liquid form. I found it at Wally World and I was buying about a dozen small 12 oz jars of it at a time (Brer Rabbit brand). I was using the liquid form because at the time I could not find a source for dry molasses. After a lot of looking I found a company here in Houston that sells the dry form. It is called Southwest Fertilizer and the link below will take you to the dry molasses page on their website. I do not remember seeing anything on the bag that says whether or not it is unsulphured. Hope this helps. Happy lasagna making.

Matt

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to dry molasses source.

Has anyone had the grass start to regrow? I tried this last year and I ended up with grass spreading thru my beds. Did I do somthing wrong?

Was the grass possibly nutsedge? (which is actually not a grass, but looks pretty much like it--also known as cocograss) I once saw where they had poured six or eight inches of asphalt (hot!) for a curb, and within a pretty short time coco had grown right through it, looking like it had been fertilized. A wonderful garden friend who let me pick her brain when I first moved here said the best way to control cocograss--not kill it, notice--is to keep pulling it regularly, but don't try to get the bulbs, which are deep and branch. After awhile it will go dormant, and if you don't work up the soil it will stay that way. If it's in a lasagna bed it will be easy to pull, and just pull the tops off. OF course there are pesticides that will get it, but not easily.

I've not had a problem with grass growing through mine. The oldest lasagna bed I have is two years old. No problems with grass so far. I'd be interested to know what, if anything, I should be adding to a 2-year-old bed to keep the soil replenished. Everthing in the bed grows so well that it must be taking a lot of nutrients from the soil.

I was just browsing your forum hoping to find some pretty Louisiana pictures of gardens when I saw this post.
I just posted my 'lazy' method of putting in new gardens in the cottage forum. Maybe it will interest some of you.

BTW, please stay safe - at this date you are probably more worried about Katrina than new garden beds.

Here is a link that might be useful: My lazy method for putting in new beds

You are probably out of comission. But if not, you can buy dried molasses at feed stores.

Greenelbows, It was some kind of grass hay and some Bramuta got mixed in.I did not do much research and just bought a bail of grass hay, straw is hard to find. The grass is very invasive and has taken over most of my St.Augestine/weed lawn. Its pertty grass so I don't mind about my lawn but it is a nightmare in my beds. I had to start over removing all layers and starting new with out grass clippings. I just used leaves insted Im pretty sure they wont sprout. At least I hope!