Lasagna in the garden

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Lasagna on the dinner menu, yes! But lasagna in the garden? That, too, will be a "yes," I believe, as you learn more about it.

You won't be eating this lasagna, but you'll be happy to eat what's grown in it. That's because this lasagna is a method of composting. And it is so easy, you will be amazed. The directions I give here will be for containers, including raised beds. However, the same techniques apply if you garden directly in an already-existing garden plot.

You'll need a good collection of newspapers to begin. Wet them thoroughly, and put them down, in an overlapping fashion, several layers thick. The newspaper will kill any grass or weeds, providing you don't leave gaps for them to sneak through. And remember that one or two sheets is not enough — the newspaper needs to be thick enough so that it will take many months for it to decompose.

Now start building your lasagna. Cover the newspaper with a layer of straw, hay or compost a couple of inches deep. Next, spread layers of whatever organic materials you have, such as chopped leaves, composted manure, kitchen scraps (no meat, bones, dairy products or pet waste), quantities of coffee grounds, shredded paper, trimmings from your trees and flowers, grass clippings (no Roundup or other chemicals used), pine needles and so on. Try to keep a balance between green materials, such as grass clippings, and brown ones, such as dry leaves, but items do not need to be added in any specific order. And keep layers of any one item thin, not several inches thick. Avoid using weeds with seeds on them, as this compost will not get hot enough to kill them.

To decompose well, ingredients need to be small. Run the lawn mower over the leaves to chop them up, or put them in a plastic garbage can and use a grass trimmer to pulverize them. (Offer to collect your neighbor's bags of leaves they plan to set out for leaf-collection day.) Items like cornstalks need to be chopped up, as do trimmings from trees and shrubs. Spray with water as needed, to keep the materials feeling like a damp sponge, but not wet.

Keep adding layers until your raised bed or container is full. You may find that you need to use some purchased compost from a local source if you don't have enough materials from your own yard, and that's okay, too. Use a purchased compost starter if you want to, but it really isn't necessary. A few shovelsful of dirt has plenty of microbes to help things get started.

Now cover it over with black plastic. This is probably the only time you'll hear me recommending black plastic for anything, but it does work here. Put bricks or stones around the edges of the plastic to keep it in place, and let Mother Nature do her magic over the winter. In the spring, plant seedlings directly in the compost you've made. To plant small seeds, you may want to sow them in a seed starting mix spread on the top of your container or bed.

There's still time to sign up for the Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens all-day gardening symposium on November 7. Choose four classes from among the nearly 40 offered. Held at the Higher Education Center in Medford, the cost is $40, including lunch. For a registration packet, call Master Gardeners at 541-776-7371.

Carol Oneal is a past president of the OSU Jackson County Master Gardeners Association. E-mail her at diggit1225@gmail.com.

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