It sure will work! You aren't dealing with Bermuda up there in Ontario (?) so you should be just fine. You can also use that sod you dug up, just turn the stuff over so the roots are exposed and cover it. I have to conserve all the soil I have so I've done this myself.

Thanks bluesunflower. Hubby is skeptical but willing to give it a try so we will see what happens. I have so many gardening things on the go but having a blast with it all. As for the other sod, a friend was so kind to come pick it all up and use it to even out an area at his camp so it was a win win situation.

Here are before and after pictures of how well the lasagna method works.

Jan. 13, 2008. Notice the 2 live oak trees and 1 cedar in the upper left quad. That area is the island bed in picture #2.

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Oct. 2008

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The time frame was from January to October of the same year.

It's how I created most of my beds. The veggie patch got tilled because it contained a lot of sapling roots. The rest was laid out with newspaper and leaf mulch. Only where I have Bermuda and Centipede (yes, in the same area of the yard, why do you ask? ;) ) did I spray with Roundup to kill everything and get a fresh start.

Thanks for the pics token. Hope I end up with anything as close to the beauty I see in the pics. I love experimenting so this should be fun.

Sorry, just realized the pics were from plantmaven.

5 years ago that is how I started my beds, one is 25 feet long, the other is 40 feet long. My neighbors stared like I was a nut out there laying down newspaper and cardboard in October dumping mushroom mulch all over it. It worked though! Also my soil was very hard,compacted, not healthy. Now I can literally stick my hand in 7 inches and it is loose and loamy. My plants grow like crazy.

A few tips... Make sure you layer it thick. Make sure your newspaper pages overlap or the grass will grow up through the cracks. After you lay it down sprinkle it with the hose so it doesn't blow away until you get the mulch on top, or whatever you are layering..
You could also do a layer of manure that you could get for free and then mulch on top. I just couldn't accumulate enough coffee grounds, banana peels etc. to make a dent.

Good luck!
Jody

cinci1994,

whereabouts in Ontario are you from? I'm also in Ontario and so familiar with the soils in the area.

By the way, next time around, don;t give away or throw away your old sod. Pile them up - upside down. It will rot away within this season. next year, add some compost & topsoil to the pile and mix it in. You will then have a nitrogen rich soil you can use for garden beds. I have done this with my old sod and in my case, I didn't wait to let the pile rot down. I simply planted my shrubs directly in the pile while adding more compost on the top. In time the soil broke down rich in nutrients.

Last, dig a v trench around the lasagna pile, to prevent grass encroachment. Later when the bed is finally established and you want a clean line separating the bed from the grass, this trench is going to help. Maintain this every year. Use a half-moon shaped edger.

Ianna

DANGIT! Why the heck did I spend the entire spring digging my new beds and why did I just now hear about this method after years of gardening?! >:-Well... at least it was a good workout.

Scully,

I still would prefer a double digging method to create beds as it's a very thorough method and I for one really want to ensure I have good soil for my yard. By double digging I could quickly add my compost and composted manure. My plants with deep roots are able to take hold faster. So in my opinion, your hardwork is not going to be for nothing.

Ianna

The more lasagna materials you pile up, and the better you are at keeping it moist, the looser and easier to dig the soil will be next year. Just getting the grass and roots to disappear helps a lot, but if you can get worms and pillbugs to decompose a lot of organic matter into the new bed, there's less digging and the compost is already there. Of course, there's the work of moving and spreading the organic materials, so it's up to you do decide what is easier.

My first attempt at lasagna gardening involved a far-too-thin layer of coffee grounds and cardboard. The cardboard didn't even break down, so I dug through it to plant things into rock-hard soil. I gradually figured out that this wasn't a great idea. The plants still survived, though (but didn't grow much) :)

I've also had success with lasagna gardening - my neighbors have been amazed! First, dh dug a trench around the edges. We used cardboard from moving boxes (we had recently moved and don't get a newspaper), and piled the edge pieces on top of the cardboard, upside down. My layers were grass clippings and dry leaves, then bought compost on top, since I didn't have enough of my own. I planted just a few weeks after starting the first ones, and it worked fine. My main issue is covering the edges well enough - I always skimp a bit and end up with grass at the edges that I have to deal with.