Garden Design II

Sheet Mulching (AKA Lasagna Gardening)

 Sheet mulching can be used to remove a lawn and is a much easier way to prepare a new garden bed. It is a good way to use grass clippings, compost, cardboard and other free materials to improve the soil.  Sheet mulching is sometimes called ‘lasagna gardening’ because the layers are built up like the layers in lasagna.

No-dig soil preparation is easier for people and better for the soil. Turning the soil too much disturbs the soil structure and brings up more weed seeds to the surface where they will germinate. It takes some time for the materials to break down, so this is a good project for fall or early spring. Beds will be ready to plant several months after sheet mulching.

Volunteers sheet mulching at a community garden

Materials Needed: 

• Cardboard or newspaper
• Compostable materials like leaves, grass clippings, compost, small twigs or shrub prunings, coffee grounds, compost
• Water source
• Wheelbarrows or buckets for moving material
• Shovels and digging forks

Steps:

• Determine the size of the new bed and cut an edge with a spade or shovel.
• Next, spread cardboard or newspapers to completely cover the bed with no gaps.
• Then add layers of compost, grass clippings, coffee grounds, leaves, etc. to raise up the bed.
• Finish with a layer of compost or soil to hold everything in place.

 Articles & Fact Sheets

• Break up with your lawn, use cardboard to say goodbye with no regrets, UC Davis: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/news/break-up-with-your-lawn-using-cardboard
• Introduction to Premature: Sheet Mulching: http://cceonondaga.org/resources/introduction-to-permaculture-sheet-mulching
• Oregon State University: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9559-sheet-mulching-lasagna-composting-cardboard
• Soil & Water Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, Washington County, OR: https://tualatinswcd.org/sheet-mulching-made-easy/ Denver Water
  

Videos Demonstrating Sheet Mulching

Soil & Water Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, Washington County, OR:
  

Denver Water, CO:
:  

Author: Donna Alese Cooke, 2026. Adapted from the NYS Seed to Supper curriculum, Chapter 2, Getting Started with Healthy Soil