The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine

Recently I had a chance to teach school children how make a Lasagna Garden. A chance meeting with a parent, who knew about my no-dig, no-till garden methods, asked if I would teach the children how to make and plant a garden.

During the first meeting with the class Dave and I told them about our project; to make a garden in a place that would let us grow vines up an ugly fence that bordered their playground. The kids taught us something that day; they wanted to plant pumpkins and nothing we said would distract them. We explained that it was fall and we would make the garden but the pumpkin seeds would have to wait until spring. They just wanted to grow pumpkins.

There were 16 5-year-olds and they could only be outside with us for 30 minutes a day. We would have to do some careful planning. We asked the parents to help by sending peat moss, daffodil bulbs and pansies.

Dave and I collected our organic materials; newspapers, chopped leaves, fresh grass clippings and pine needles. Everything we needed including: peat moss, bulbs and pansies were waiting when the children raced out of school. We had also brought a water hose, wash tub and small size rubber gloves. As the children gathered round us we gave them a pair of gloves and instructed them to put the paper in the tub of water to soak. After showing them how to cover the ground with wet newspaper we let them do it. As soon as they discovered the way rubber gloves could be filled with water we almost lost control.

As soon as the area was covered with wet paper we showed them how to cover the paper with a few inches of chopped leaves and grass clippings. The project was just shy of total chaos when the 30 minutes was over and the children were herded up and taken back to class. Dave and I picked up the used gloves, straightened the paper and added 3 inches of peat moss to the top of the leaves and grass clippings.

We went back to the leaf dump for more grass clippings and chopped leaves, loading them into garbage cans and into the back of my car. The children’s parents sent about 400  bulbs and 8 flats of pansies. The next day we were outside when the children came out for their 30 minutes in the garden. That day we showed them how to “plant” the bulbs by laying them on the paper and covering them with the organic material. Then we showed them how to “plant” the pansies on top of the bulbs.

After the children went in for the day Dave and I straightened up the bulbs and pansies and went for more organic material. We had the children for one more 30 minute workday. We helped them add the chopped leaves and grass clippings and water the garden. After they were back inside we added a top mulch of pine needles. The bulbs were out of sight and the pansies were all right-side-up and the garden looked great. The children were on to another project in their classroom but we will be back in the spring with pumpkin seeds and let the children plant what they wanted all along.