Lasagne gardening - not impressed

I thought I would have a go at some lasagne gardening - this is where you sheet the bed with layers of newspaper then layer on top homegrown compost, things you would normally compost before putting on the bed, etc etc. the whole lot is supposed to rot down and give a growing medium you can plant in.

Well - its ok, but you know how shop bought compost dries out quickly and you need to keep watering it to keep the plants alive? I have two extreme problems on my lasagne bed.

One is where the plants roots are not touching soil they are drying out in the lasagne layers. The other problem is where the lasgane layers have become water logged and it is like planting in fresh horse manure.

I can't think that either situation is good for root growth and plant health.

Next year I will still go by the "no-dig" approach, which has served me well, but I will compost all my compostables and layer them on top of the beds when they look more like proper compost.

Has anyone ever got this method to work?

Found it thanks.

It seems to have worked with the potato bed - just drop the seed potatoes under the layers and pile more on as the stems come through.

Maybe my lasagne layers had not rotted down enough before planting on the other beds.

Sorry to hear your experience has been so negative Kirpi.

I used lasagne gardening for the first time when I took over my plot two years ago with great effect.  It was, quite honestly, the best method I have ever used to set up a veg garden.  Other plotholders still ask me what I do to my plot to keep my plants so healthy and vigorous.  

I did find I had to compact each layer well as you built it up to stop air pockets and also not use too thick layers of one particular material.  I also used HM compost mixed with shop bought (and did use peat based so not very P.C).  We grew squashes, cabbages, strawberries, beetroots, salad crops, chard, celeriac and spring onions in these beds in the first season.  Once established, I don't water my crops unless it is a real drought.

We used this method out of necessity at the time as we took over the plot during a very dry June and simply couldn't get a fork into the hard baked clay.  In addition, the majority of my plot hadn't been cultivated in living memory and I don't like using rotavators and strimmers as I know the site is full of newts and slow worms.

The beds we built in this manner are still the most productive (they have been top dressed after each harvest with a little manure).  They are currently filled with onions, shallots, chard, salads and garlic and doing really well - in fact I am hoping we will avoid the dreaded white rot which the other non-lasagne bed suffers from.  

I am slowly surrounding the beds with edging and top dress them now using the no dig approach.  However it was a great way to start off the plot

So much so that I am (hopefully) just about to take over a quarter plot and plan to do exactly the same as I can no longer double dig due to back problems and have been so pleased with the result on the other plot.

Perhaps it was beginners' luck but I am really surprised to hear your negative experience.

By the way, I planted squash, strawberries, beetroot and cabbages straight into the lasagne beds (which were topped with compost mix and weed suppressant because I didn't believe the couch grass and bindweed wouldn't get through the layers).  I did get a little weed growth around the edges but nothing other than very weakened bindweed elsewhere.