Lasagna Garden Bed Update

It has been over six months since I installed the lasagna garden bed in my yard.  The verdict?  Let's go to the tape... (Picture after the jump!)

The Good

1. Corn!  The corn has literally taken off.  As you can see in the picture, I planted one stand, and had such success that I planted another few rows.  I used the three sisters method, which includes squash and beans.  
2. Onions.  The onions I put in are doing pretty well. 
3. Weeds.  There really are no weeds in this garden.  This method works as advertised in the weed department.  The only thing that comes up is the occasional pine seedling, which is par for the course in my area. 

The Bad

Just about everything else.  I have had lots of seedlings sprout and then die due to hardening off.  All of my beets, most of my lettuce.  Most of my fall plantings all died.  I think part of this is due to the extremely wet spring and the fact that I tried to do it all from seed.  I have since started a seeding tray indoors with a grow-light, so I think I will have more success with the summer crops (tomato, watermelon, etc.).

The Ugly

The slugs and bugs are still an issue as they would be in any garden.  Lasagna beds have nothing on the pests that eat up a garden.  That said, this has been a successful effort.  I'm already looking forward to next season when the wood chips start to break down and the soil quality gets even better.

What I would do differently...

I wouldn't use wood chips.  They take too long to break down, and I think contribute to the hardening off of some of the seedlings I put in.  I used them because they were delivered for free from a tree company on craigs list, and one of my rules for permaculture is to do it on the cheap.  That said, I could probably have found hay bales or other carbon sources online for free and had a better result.