Lasagna Gardening with Herbs

by Patricia Lanza

Hang up your shovel and trowel! Now you can use the time (and money) you save laboring in your garden to actually enjoy it. Drawing on the amazingly simple layering system of gardening developed in her previous "lasagna gardening" books, Lanza applies these principles to the ever popular topic of growing herbs. Her organic, commonsense approach uses natural ingredients, close planting, and generous mulching, with little or no fancy equipment. Here she shares her methods based upon almost fifty years of experience to give readers tips on : - Using the herbs in recipes
- How to make herbal wreaths and create delicious herbal teas
- Using herbs for aromatherapy and potpourris
- How to grow and use edible flowers Lasagna Gardening with Herbs is the perfect book for all the busy people who want to reap the rewards of a garden but have neither the time, the energy, nor the confidence to get down in the dirt. Accomplished and amateur gardeners alike will love this ingenious process that allows you to create beautiful, productive, low-maintenance herb gardens.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

290 pages, Paperback

Published March 18, 2004

Reviews

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a master gardener, I found the basic ideas behind the "lasagna gardening" good. However, she talks about just planting right away in these beds. I find that a bit troublesome if you are using things that are actively breaking down. I worry if these could "burn" your plants. Also, composting is a tricky business which could lead to leaching bad things into your drinking water, etc. Please look into that if you are composting as part of this type of gardening (or without it). One other note, she mentions the use of peat quite a bit. Peat is another "fuel" that is being used up and takes millions of years to replace. I would recommend not relying on this material as much as she mentions. On a positive note, I know many places that are using this method now and it is great for using previously-un-gardenable land such as old parking lots. Also, tilling causes disruption to the very important soil creatures which live symbiotically with plants. And, when you plant your plants in lasagna layers, you don't need to fertilize as much. Less tilling, fertilizing, herbicides, etc. is good for everyone!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good explanation of lasagna layer soil preparation; extensive section on herbs.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ideas

[Janie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was greatly disappointed with Lasagna Gardening but I felt it my duty to give Lanza another chance. (I didn't go out of my way to do so; I had put both books on hold at the same time. This one came in two months later.)

Something about Lanza's voice annoys me. It's smug. Nevertheless, herein lies a hidden trove cataloging EDIBLE FLOWERS!!

Apart from that there are also some very clever companion plantings.

A proper gardener might rightly spend attention on these polyculture / companion planting ideas. I attend the flowers.

Edible flowers incant a fae charm that has always hooked me. When I was little I spent a lot of time in my Grandma O's garden hunting periwinkle nectar -- drop by blooming drop. (Note: I'm not advocating the consumption of periwinkle. Pluck 'n' suck at your own peril: at least some periwinkles are mildly poisonous.)

After I finished this book I went out to the herb garden and plucked a petal off of the bee balm (a student gifted me its identification; I didn't know it otherwise!). Um ... YUM. I immediately plucked half a dozen more. I want to share its bewitchments with the bees or so I didn't pluck it bald but I could have.

Periwinkle, move over.

I said "it tastes like CANDY." My husband said "I don't think that people who eat candy would agree with you." I find truth in that, and I amend my statement. It tastes BETTER than candy.

Thank you Gaia, K Sodhi, and P Lanza!

[Kristal]

What?!?! I just saw this, why hasn't Amazon suggested this? I can't wait to order.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

focusses mainly on herbs, still main principals of lasagna gardening