Here is a quick step by step on how we used the lasagna approach:

 

1,.Get to know the land and plan the beds--Think about what you want to grow and what sort of space they will take up (for instance squash will sprawl, while basil will stay put) and then plan the beds accordingly. Almost all vegetables like full sun so try to find the sunniest patches of the space and make those your future beds (take some time to get to know the land at different times of day). Next, draw the outlines of the beds with flour (or with sticks or whatever else--flour is bright and biodegradable).

 

2. Adding the layers--the first layer to be added is cardboard or newspaper. This will kill off the weeds and grass underneath by keeping away the light and air. Then begin to put down layers of compost, straw, manure, leaves, coyer*, and more compost (the more compost you can get into the soil the better). At FoodShare we used a mixture of compost and coyer as our top layer, but you could also use straw or leaves. Use what you have access to: if you have sawdust, barn litter, grass clippings, or some other input you think might work, try it, it will probably will work well.

 

• coyer is the husk of coconuts. It comes from far away, but it is a waste product and is continually being generated. It takes the place of peat moss, which is slow growing and its harvest does bad things for wetlands. Recently, we heard about using grain chaff as an alternative to peat and coyer, so we will be experimenting with this this year as a local waste product.