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| I've built up two plots in which I intend to plant container roses next year with lots of leaves, grass clippings, veggie stalks, and half-ready compost to a depth of 18-24 inches. As I was looking at these built-up plots, I began to wonder how I would plant in them.
By how much will these layers go down over winter? When it comes to planting the roses, I would spread the layers and settle the rose root ball into the soil underneath, right? I wouldn't just plant the rose in the layers on top of the soil, would I? Thanks
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| According to what I read from what Pat Lanza wrote you plant in the material you have layered Lasagna Style. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Lasagna Gardening 101
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| Pat Lanza uses soil, peat moss, and compost in her layers, which is why she is able to plant immediately. She's essentially putting growing medium on top of sod. After I bought her ridiculous book, I rushed out and did what you did---created a raised bed out of raw feedstock and some compost, and planted a garden in it. The garden survived, but the plants revealed deficiencies. I think that the moist mulch layers kept the plants from dying until their roots were able to reach the soil underneath. Pat Lanza is the empress who wears no clothes, a fraud who stole Ruth Stout's methods and claimed them as her own. She claims that you can pile up OM and plant in it, but unless you use the soil and peat moss that she does, you are essentially building a fresh compost pile and hoping your plants will survive until the layers break down. Any idiot (including Pat Lanza) can put soil on soil and plant in it. Without soil layers, 'lasagna gardening' does not work as Lanza describes. The good news is that you're not planting until next spring and the layers you've piled will have broken down greatly by then, and yes, your rose will need to be planted into the soil under the layers. I do build gardens using the deep mulch method, but without soil plugs, they cannot be planted in immediately. |
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- Posted by gardenerzone4 4 (My Page) on Tue, Nov 9, 10 at 3:04
| Annpat--that really helps. I always wondered how one could plant in leaves, dried stalks, and grass clippings. If the pile is 18-24" now, how high is it likely to be by April of next year? |
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| It will shrink a lot. At least by half. I don't mean to poo-poo your efforts. It's an easy way to build a bed. If you have soil to spare from another part of the yard, make a soil plug in the 'lasagna' and plant in that next spring. If the roses are very valuable, make a large soil plug for the plant. |
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| annpat, you are right. I always plant in the soil, because the mulch itself can't support the plant growth. |
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| Unless your soil is very rich it will need amending before planting those roses. Your lasagna material may not be fully decomposed for a couple of years in zone 4 so may not provide the nutrients roses need. They are known as heavy feeders and don't do well without added nutrition. Scroll down about 2/3 of the way on the link below for one way to amend soil in the planting hole for roses - bone meal, compost, peat moss, and aged manure seem to be the amendments often mentioned by many experts. Because we made a new bed out of very poor soil we amended the entire bed partially and the planting holes even more and the roses did really well. I then mulched with my homemade compost/mulch and will continue to do that every year. I also bury kitchen scraps between the plants which attracts earthworms and feed the roses with alfalfa tea which works well for all my plants. Your lasagna bed will shrink a lot as it decomposes. You'll wonder where it all went but your soil will be so much better. |
Here is a link that might be useful: amending soil for roses
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| I don't grow roses, but aren't they considered woody plants? Woody plants need to have their roots established into solid soil, with the crown at the soil level. Perennials need a fairly settled bed too. I have had great luck with lasagne beds, after they have mostly decomposed, and then I turn them loosely to mix a bit with the soil before planting. I've had fun growing potatoes directly in a compost pile though. They don't seem to mind the loose structure. If your winters have a lot of moisture, the bed will settle a great deal over the winter. Sounds like you will end up with a really nice bed, and my experience has been that they are even better in year 2. |
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