Lasagna technique on clay to prepare for next years sod

[DanHurt]

I am thinking of using the lasagna technique on a portion of my backyard to prepare the clay soil for laying sod next spring. The only thing growing in my back yard are weeds at the moment so a large section of mulch would be an improvement.

I can get cardboard and oak leaves free and probably mulch from the city, what else should I put down? What kind of dirt, compost should I ask for when I buy it?

Thanks - Dan

[applestar]

I'm not sure if "lasagna" technique is exactly suitable when you are intending to put lawn down since after piling at least 12~18" of material -- as much as 24~30", the result is usually a raised bed that is much higher than the surrounding area. Perhaps you're thinking of "sheet mulching", which tends to be less height.

However, I'm not sure that sheet mulching and expecting to leave the area barren all year is exactly the way to go (or realistic) either....

[DanHurt]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not ready to lay sod this year so sheet mulching seems like it would be the ideal solution:

1. Kill weeds
2. Improve soil
3. No mowing weeds the rest of this year

Are there other options I could look at?

[ranman99]

Have you looked into hydro-seed?

[DanHurt]

No I hadn't, but I took a quick look after I read your post.

That could work for me but I would need to add the 1/2 inch of compost spring and fall to get any kind of good soil in there.

It looks like some kind of sheet mulching will do the trick.