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Tried lasagna-style planting in a raised bed and got a jungle instead of vegetables
I layered cardboard, compost, straw, and soil last spring thinking it would be the perfect no-dig setup, but my tomatoes bolted in June and the zucchini took over the whole 4x8 bed before July. Did I mess up the layers or is this method just hype for small spaces like mine in Columbus?
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carter.laura21d ago
Two feet of layered organic matter actually sinks a lot more than people realize over a season, so your soil surface probably dropped 4 or 5 inches by midsummer and messed with your root zones. I bet your cardboard layer wasn't fully broken down yet either, blocking water flow between the compost and the straw above it and creating a weird perched water table effect. A 4x8 bed with that much uncomposted material just needs way more time and maybe some nitrogen added upfront before it settles into something tomatoes and zucchini can handle.
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norab2121d ago
yeah so i had the exact same thing happen my first time trying lasagna style in a 4x6 bed here in cincinnati. the layers just dont settle fast enough for warm season crops like tomatoes and zukes. what finally worked for me was doing the layers in the fall instead of spring, letting it break down over winter, and then i added a handful of blood meal and some extra compost right into the planting holes in spring. also i skipped the cardboard layer completely on my second try, just used newspaper cause it breaks down way faster and doesnt mess with drainage. i also made the bed taller than i thought i needed, like 12 inches of loose materials that ended up settling to about 8 inches by june. your layers sound fine honestly, it's just that fresh organic matter eats up nitrogen while it breaks down and your plants starved a bit. plus the zucchini is always gonna take over anyway, that's just what they do.
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