Texas Gardening: Lessons learned while gardening in a drought..., 0 by podster

podster wrote:
lasagna beds
Last fall I started building a lasagna bed which is composed of layers of various materials. I used cardboard boxes, newspaper and compost. I also added some water absorbent polymer crystals in the layers as well as fertilizers. The layers did not rot down as well as they should have as it stayed too dry over winter but I found the plant roots still did well but spread out rather than down.

In this bed I planted lots of herbs and vegetables. Peppers, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, canteloupe, onions, beans, cucumbers, basils, par~cel, dill. Some did better than others but I think that will be corrected if I can find suitable cultivars to deal with this heat/humidity. After planting, I mulched with pinestraw. This bed has required a bit more water but its' needs are still minimal. The bed is only 8' x 10'.

I am still planting fall tomatoes, succession bush beans, harvesting cucumbers and setting out more cucumber plants. When all are done, I plan on adding more layers of lasagna for the next seasons planting.

All in all, I will call this a good experiment that should only get better. Again, this photo was taken at the end of May.