Customer Reviews

Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really like the concept of this book. The author has taken practices of no-dig gardening, mulching and sheet composting and combined them to come up with an innovative method for quickly creating a productive garden without the back-breaking work traditionally involved.

The first chapter of the book explains the lasagna gardening method -- which involves covering up the ground where you intend to plant with a layer of cardboard or wet newspaper to keep down weeds, then topping this with 1 1/2 to 2 feet of layered organic materials such as chopped leaves, compost, straw, grass clippings, etc. You can plant into this straight away, or cover the beds and wait for the materials to decompose. The lasagna gardening method is simple and really only takes 1 chapter to describe. The rest of the book offers good advice on growing vegetables, herbs, flowers, dealing with pests, and special tips and techniques for making your garden unique. This information is comprehensive and beginners will probably find it useful. But I already own a number of gardening books and didn't find a lot of new ideas here. I would suggest experienced gardeners borrow this book from the library first before deciding whether to buy it.

I do have some reservations about the lasagna gardening method. I live in the city and have recently taken on a large garden plot which is overgrown with weeds and brambles. I have decided against pursuing lasagna gardening, for the moment at least. I don't have very much compost, leaves or straw on hand, and because I don't own a car it would be difficult and impractical for me to transport the large quantities of organic materials needed.

I also strongly disagree with the author's recommendation to use peat moss when establishing garden beds -- from an environmental point of view I feel this is highly irresponsible. It appears from her descriptions that she uses bales and bales of peat herself -- 5 or 6 two-inch layers for every lasagna garden she makes. Peat is not a renewable resource and harvesting it for use by gardeners worldwide has a devastating effect on ancient peat bogs here in Britain. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has campaigned for the past 10 years against the use of peat in gardening because the destruction of peat bogs eliminates birds' habitats. Alternatives to peat are now widely available, and no one who cares about the future of the earth should be using peat in their garden.

I believe that when it comes to books presenting new ways of doing anything, the only testimony that counts is that which comes from firsthand experience. Well folks, I'm here to tell you after a year of gardening the lasagna way that my firsthand experience shows this book is one of the wisest investments any gardener can make. Let me tell you about my 2003 garden.

First, a short outline of lasagna gardening technique: soak b&w newspapers in water, then overlap sections in a single layer directly on top of premarked sod area. This smothers the weeds/grass underneath. Then put a 4 inch layer of moistened peat moss over that, followed by a moist layer of organic shredded green material, followed by another layer of peat moss, followed by a layer of moist compost or yard waste, repeat the peat moss/organic matter pattern until your bed is built up to at least 18 inches high. Finish with compost on top, then either let it break down for a few months for certain crops or plant seeds and transplants directly into the matrix by pushing aside layers and inserting. As the layers break down, the earthworms will be eating the sod and breaking up the newspapers, mixing the layers together for you. The final result is an organic, self-tilled soil that's rich and free of disease and weed seeds. It's so simple.

Note: the author did neglect to mention the importance of wetting down each layer as you build the beds. I only figured this out because I had made compost before and I knew you needed moist materials for it to work.

In late fall of 2002 I built a 5 foot by 25 foot border bed for perennial flowers the lasagna way after reading Patricia Lanza's book. It sounded almost too good to be true - no digging, no tilling, no weeding? What was the catch, I asked myself. When I was done I planted perennials taken from four inch pots, watered them in, and left them for the winter rains to take care of (we can do that in So. Cal, hee hee). They settled in nicely and grew steadily, but it was cool weather so the roots were doing most of the growth at that time. A few months later as top growth appeared I was encouraged to build more lasagna beds in my vegetable garden - two 5 by 5 raised beds to go with my other two traditionally tilled raised beds (those were a lot of work, double digging, sifting rocks, mixing compost, etc. I wish now that I had known about the lasagna method a few years ago!). After about two hour's work I was done layering my new vegetable beds and watered them down to compost a little. In late May, I transplanted sweet peppers and basil starts to one lasagna bed and planted cantaloupes and flowers in the other.

Those two lasagna beds outperformed the traditional beds in every way. That summer I harvested more sweet peppers than ever before. It was my first try growing cantaloupes, so I have no previous crops to compare, but they did well and I harvested quite a few delicious, sun-sweetened cantaloupes from that bed. Meanwhile the flowers seemed to love the soil in my perennial bed, and they grew to huge proportions, filling in the space nicely by season's end. As promised, there was little watering and even less weeding. As a bonus, I never fertilized because the soil was already so rich in composting organic matter. Best of all, no soil-borne diseases! This was an organic gardener's paradise.

Author Patricia Lanza uses plenty of real-life examples from her own gardens to illustrate the effectiveness of this technique. She explains in detail how lasagna gardening differs from traditional tilling and double digging, what the benefits are and which crops need to wait while the layers compost down and which can be put in right away. There is an alphabetical listing of ways to plant annuals and seeds in lasagna beds, a plethora of tips on maximizing your space and innovating ways to grow vertically if need be. There are also garden plans for flower borders and perennial beds grouped according to watering and sunshine needs.

Please don't be afraid to break with "tradition" - you could save not only your garden tool budget, but your back as well. And if the promise of all those fruits, veggies and flowers with less work and more pleasure isn't enough for you, then you must really love that rototiller!
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

I picked this book up at the library almost by mistake until I read the book title. It piqued my curiosity and I took it home.

This gardening book is a boon for the upcoming retiring baby boomers, older folks or the disabled. I am disability retired but love to grow things, and we depend on our vegetable gardens to supplement our meagre pensions. I read the book through with my wife as garden co-ordinator and we have made out a plan for our first gartden of this type. We shall have 6 5' x 3' plots using 4" x 4" planks to keep the gardens in place. We shall have one plot for onion sets, one for tomatoes, one for lettuce and leafy veggies, one for strawberries, and one for the cabbage family. We like the simplicity of planting the garden as the mulch etc. will not hinder vegetative growth with the ground becoming hard, not to mention the paucity of weeds. With back pain and arthur and ritis we find it easy to work these small plots as each is narrow and we can reach across to do the planting. This book also contains a great number of ideas for staking plants and different methods of keeping plants growing upward like cukes and beans etc. to save space and get more production.

In short, this handy book we have discovered tells us how to set up this type of garden, what and how to plant it, tips on insect control, the various crops which might be grown from herbs to flowers to berries. Lastly it has many resources of information to draw on. For those gardeners who are looking for a more ecological way to garden using household waste etc, and those gardeners who like to experiment with different types of gardens, I highly recommend this book. It is as compleat in all areas for this method of gardening and profusely illustrated with maps of hardiness areas and an extensive bibliography and other resource information. I don't care who invented it; I just like the idea of enjoying my gardening with perhaps a little less pain of digging and bending. Now to see if it will work and let's face it; we ain't getting any younger... Read it and try it; you just might like it even if your gardening areas are small or large. Oh yes, and if your wife likes it, gardening together will add to the domestic harmony of working together and enoying the soil and its relationship to humankind.

Composting without the bin is the basic idea behind Patricia Lanza's lasagna gardening technique involving the layering of organic materials to create new, raised gardening beds. Her first chapter explains the technique, theory and materials in detail and is a great how-to guide. However, after the inital explanation, the book turns into a typical, although well organized and nicely written, garden handbook with chapters on vegetables, herbs, berries and flowers. Lanza has a wealth of gardening experience and offers many "tips and time savers" throughout the book. The final chapters include information on gardening for birds, extending the gardening season, and organic approaches to pest control. Finally, Lanza returns to the lasagna technique and adapts it for the reader's use in small and unusual spaces, as well as for container gardening. Although most of us won't have all the materials on hand initially for much more than a small plot, it is worth learning this earth-friendly method, and you may pick up a tip or two from Lanza's vast gardening experiences.

Whatever you call it, lasagna gardening, sheet composting, plain old fashion mulching with organic material, it is all basically the same thing and has been around for a long time. I was surprised to see a whole BOOK on the subject since the concept can be explained in a few pages. And this book proves that to be true. Actual technique is covered in the space of a long magazine article.

One can find more (and better) information on lasagna gardening on line, for free, just by doing a search.

I enjoyed the section on herbs, but again, it was nothing that cannot be found on line.

For inexperienced gardeners or people who do not have any other gardening reference books on hand it is a good book, but for an experienced gardener, it is just so much fluff.

I am a gardener since the 1970s. I have two rototillers and all kinds of other garden junk (of course to help me with my chores in the garden). My wife got the book for me and I duely ignored it for over a year. Then, having promised my wife that I would at least read a part of the book, I became facinated with the basic idea. My garden is approximately 45 by 60 ft in size. I took approximately one third of the garden and covered it with a layer of old hay, grass clippings and leaves one fall. the results were good. Not only did I get good results from my planting, I did not have to rototill or cultivate. My wife loves it because she doesnt get her shoes muddy.

After three years trial I am convinced. The tillers will be cleaned up and ready for sale this next spring.
anyone for

This gardening book is one of my favorites. It has revolutionized how I garden. I saved a tree in my yard by doing a ring of "lasagna gardening" around it. And its soo easy!! It works and the earthworms love it too. I hardly have any weeds where I have used this method, what weeds I do have are fun to pull. Last summer I grew a 65 pound pumpkin in a yard that been hardpan from years of no use. The winter before we put the cardboard down and layers of compost, viola! my plants loved it!

I highly recommend this book.

This is one of my favorite gardening books. I collect gardening books and have a very extensive collection. This book should be on everyone's list. It details an ingenious method of gardening without the backbreaking work. I immediately put her practices into place and have never had to dig another bed!!! It's fabulous! No more sore backs! No more hours of toil! Just a quick method that will get you the same results in 10th of the work. If that weren't enough, it has chapters on individual plants so you get even more than you bargained for.

I am new to gardening (I have started vegi gardening April 2001) and this book gave me a lot of easy information about gardening it has a great part about herbs and the easy language it is written in also the way the author writes feels like a friend is speaking to me I liked the book very much and I was waiting for her new book and I am buying one.

Usually when reviewing titles we like to keep personal experience out of the review. But for this book, the review would not have been complete without telling the experience of our Founder and Chief Literarian had after using Patricia Lanzaï¿s techniques. In fact, it was her running around the office raving about her garden that led us to this book.

Before using this book, our leader had a decidedly brown thumb. After using this book she starting throwing homegrown zucchinis and tomatoes about like water. This book was so easy to understand, so engaging and so up and at ï¿em that any reader who does not get up and immediately begin a hearty search for composting materials must be stuck under something heavy or tied to an immovable object.

Lanza has found the magic formula for growing a green thumb. Make no mistake, this book is written for the beginner but even so, the advanced gardener would certainly find a trick or two between its pages. And yes, we understand lasagna gardening is just sheet composting in pretty overalls. But since we have yet to read a book about sheet composting that is even remotely as interesting as Lanzaï¿s lasagna, weï¿ll continue to sidle up to her supper table for another helping.

Grab a helping for yourself, and while youï¿re at it, buy a freezer and a pressure canner. Youï¿ll need it.

--Literate Planet