'morning, I had never seen anybody here state that covers would not work along with the Ruth Stout method, so that was why I did it. For me it worked as well as anywhere else in the gardens. Cannot say that I have seen entire gardens grown in hay, however, I might be well on my way. Seems to be much less work than yearly tilling and weeding. You could not disturb the surface without hundreds of worms wigling about. I find the hay method truly amazing. Maybe I was 'icing' along the way. When I found a good continual source for free hay I made the move. First I applied char, then paper, then hay. Between layers I added some bone meal once, then hay, then homemade woodchips, then hay, then 1/2 bag sand from Lowes to fight slugs, then hay followed by the sand. The sand seemed to upset the slugs. Finaly grass clippings with leaves mowed along in. All that got me to where I applied the cover in late September. If I did something wrong let me know because it sure was easy on my back. Best regards.

Sujiwan, there are mentions of this all over the Hugelkultur sites. At least those that feel the need to instruct. :) From what I remember, cedar, treated lumber, walnut, locust and a couple more weren't good. Things that decompose very slowly or that have antibacterial properties such as the cedar. This was so easy. Somehow easier than the lasagna beds I made when I first moved in here, around 2002-4. Perhaps I'm braver and trust common sense that I didn't at first. ha! Either way, I'm having all the building materials moved out of my front yard, where they've been since 2005, stacked out behind the barn, and building another long bed in front. I imagine my yard as a future courtyard area, with my Japanese maples providing some shade, but definitely beautiful visual interest. Check out the resuse centers for lumber: Community Forklift in Edmonston (off Kenilworth Ave) or 2nd Chance in Baltimore. I got 12"w, 16' long unfinished pine for my kitchen floor at $0.25 a foot and 2nd chance. I'm going to check there for longer treated deck boards or just treated lumber. As a matter of fact, I think I've talked myself into going out there today. Got nuttin' better to do!

What is "topsoil"? The definition I find says "topsoil" is the top 4 to 6 inches of soil from someplace, and may be something worth the money or not. Most all good soil I have seen is composed of 95 percent of the mineral (the sand, silt, clay) particles that make up soil and about 5 percent organic matter so since the soil you have is already largely made up of the mineral particles just add the needed organic material, build a Lasagna bed on that soil and do not be concerned about "leveling" it out. Pat Lanza developed the concept of Lasagna gardening and this link takes you to her web site about it. http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm kimmq is kimmsr

I planted pole beans, peas, okra tom. into my late started lasagna bed this spring. The cardboard had not yet killed the grass.i loosened the soil a little and on most I actually just pushed and wiggled the seeds down into the grass and weeds. Once they took off I pulled weeds enough to knock them down and clear around plants then mulched heavy with shredded leaves where the grass and weeds were exposed around plants. Everything has exploded with growth. If it were me I would leave the cardboard and cover with alternating layers creating a lasagna bed. Once plants emerge and grow large enough smother the weeds and lawn with Heavy mulch. Pulling a little around plants of course.