Here’s a really nifty way to make an organic garden. It’s called lasagna gardening and it is a no dig, no till method of gardening. It is also called sheet composting.
All you need to do to get lasagna gardening is select your site. Then you add a layer of newspaper or cardboard on the bottom to smother the weeds. Then you just start layering organic material. You need to have both carbon and nitrogen layers in your lasagna. This is essentially your green stuff and brown stuff.
Anything brown, including paper, is carbon. And anything green, like grass clippings, old plants, or table scraps, has nitrogen. (if using table scraps, be sure to have them covered, so as not to attract critters – I personally hesitate using them in the open.)
Your lasagna needs to be about 18 to 24 layers of 24 inches thick. Let this settle over the winter, and in spring you are ready to plant. If you are doing a lasagna garden in summer, you should put a layer of compost on the top, and just plant right away.
If you are planting transplants, all you need to do is dig a hole in your lasagna bed and put in your seedling. However if you are planting seeds, you do need to have direct soil contact for your seeds. Here, you can dig a furrow or patch, layer in some compost, and plant your seeds.
How easy can this be? You have just made an organic garden bed without having to till anything. Now, just tend your vegetable garden as usual, and watch them grow.
Home Garden Diggers 