I almost always have a variation of a lasagna garden started in my regular garden. Any where I have a bare spot, or any where I want to squeeze in an other bed for the next year, I start layering materials. I start with trench composting. Every time I bring out some kitchen waste, I dig a hole, and dump the waste. Then I dig my next hole right beside the waste, dumping THAT soil on the waste. That gives me the hole for the next bucket full. I continue on down the row. After that, I start with layering stuff on top, almost always with newspaper or cardboard first.
We bought a ride on mower with attached bagger. That has been a huge blessing. No more piles of grass clippings every where, with stuff tracked into the house. Now those clippings go exactly where I want them: mulching my potatoes, DL in the lower level of the hoop coop, in the lasagna beds. I've also noticed that my lawn is less weedy with the bagger. Those weed seeds end up in the compost to decompose. I haven't noticed my garden being any more weedy b/c I do a deep year round mulch.
Back to lasagna gardening: I even bury lobster shells in the trench. By the following spring, there's very little sign of them. When I do fall clean up, I put all that good stuff on the row, and I chase it with some straw or spoiled hay. When ever the farmers have a crop of hay get wet, their curse is my blessing, as I can get the hay real cheap. Hay is real seedy, but, again, not a problem for me with deep mulch.
In a good year, I can complete a bed about 2' x 3' x 15'. The stuff just melts into my soil. Started with sandy loam in this spot, it is becoming very loose, and black.
The chickens were purchased to be little garden helpers. They have done a great job, and have now been turned loose in the garden, surrounded by electronet fencing until the ground freezes up. They'll be allowed to work the soil until I'm ready to plant in the spring.
