Lasagne bed

Best for Creating new veg beds

Breaking new ground is exciting, but digging it over is hard work (and damages the soil). So don’t! Lasagne beds work like in-situ compost heaps, creating ready-to-use growing spaces within a year. Simply add seed potatoes for an extra harvest.

Mow turf, then cover with thick cardboard to suppress perennial weeds. Edge with fence posts to hold everything in (1), then spread garden compost 15cm thick (2). Lay seed potatoes on top and cover with more compost (3). Then alternate layers of organic materials, such as straw or grass clippings, with compost to make a ‘lasagne’ 30-50cm high (4).

Our potato plants grew lush and leafy and produced beautifully clean spuds, but not that many – perhaps because they overdid the top growth! So this method is probably best viewed as a small but delicious bonus while you extend your veg patch.

Pro Turbo-charged growth

Con Low yields

Yield Low (about 500g per plant)