We have 30x20 garden that I tilled and planted in a couple years ago. The soil is very alkaline and somewhat rocky. It has areas of clay and gets hard very easily. I payed heck getting water in it. I used a lot of amendments where I planted, so we did grow some crops pretty well, but had disease problems and a ton of pests. It's obvious that the plants were lacking a lot.

Anyway, I'm wondering if building a lasagne-type garden, letting it decompose over the winter and tilling it in would improve the soil? Or should I plan on doing lasagne garden for a couple years and it will improve on its own?

I have one 4x20 lasagne garden I recently put together. I've covered it with black plastic and will let it bake for 6 weeks and see how it does with a small fall garden. I would really love to improve my soil, so I can do things more the traditional way. My soil is truly awful lol.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
might help you learn more about your soil.
Lasagna beds need not, and should not, be turned in, but you do need to get lots of organic matter into your soil. Some places in Texas I have done that simply by piling organic matter on the soil and let the soil bacteria work it in. You can also grow cover crops and cut or topple them as a mulch, the current issue of Organic Gardening magazine has an article about doing that (Pay Dirt, page 62).

It may sound simple, but adding lots of different organic matter does improve the soil whether you till it in or just layer over. Depends on how quickly you want to plant & how much work you want to do.

I've never had to cook a lasagna garden before planting. The worms would also die & I want them working through the materials. If I need to keep the bed moist I've used burlap bags from a coffee roaster. Call ahead & inquire about picking them up.

You also don't need to wait to plant, but if you do the soil will be ready for you.

Used coffee grounds are free & easy to accumulate from St*rbucks if you have a store near your travels. I've read caution about using a lot of it, but I've not had a problem when used as part of the lasagna mix.

Another material cautioned about using is hay sweepings, but it's in good supply at our local feed store & absolutely free, so I've used it many times & as long as I keep it in the bottom layers have no trouble with the grain sprouts.

Many gardening books say you have to till, but there are others who advocate no till & both work - just depends on how much you also want to work.