Are you planting lasagna this year? No, not the famous Italian entrée, but the soon-to-be-famous gardening technique. Those who've tried lasagna gardening say it saves work, time, money - and the environment, too.

Lasagna gardening consists of growing food (or flowers) in a foundation of composted materials. Why will lasagna gardening become famous? Expert Hana-Louise Braun says, "We're ripe for it, socially." More of us are taking steps to stop and reverse climate change, and to eat locally for both the environment and food security reasons. So, an easier, more efficient, environmentally sustainable way to grow food is becoming increasingly necessary.

Despite its growing popularity, lasagna gardening is not a new concept. Braun, who holds lasagna gardening workshops in Powell River, BC, where she lives, has been growing her own food in such a way since she was a small child. "Mother Nature was the first lasagna gardener," she explains, reminding me that the cycle of seeding, composting and growth happens each year in nature without our help. Braun describes lasagna gardening as an attempt to "replicate Nature's perfect growing medium."

The lasagna garden consists of alternating green and brown layers of organic matter, such as kitchen compost, newspaper, leaves and grass clippings. Earthworms or worm castings help to speed up the natural process of building and feeding soil. Believe it or not, there's no digging or tilling involved. In fact you can start a lasagna garden right on top the lawn and just keep adding to it each year. Having some knowledge of soil composition helps, but unless you layer with too much of one material, your soil should end up well balanced.

Patricia Lanza, author of Lasagna Gardening (Rodale, 1998) says, "The ground stays cool and damp under the layers of mulch, so regular watering is a thing of the past. Setting the plants close together encourages them to fill in faster, so weeds don't stand a chance."

Starting your layers six weeks or so before planting time is ideal, but Braun says you can plant right away in "hot spots," by making a hole in the layers and filling with some topsoil. Environmentally, lasagna gardening increases harvest yields and our ability to eat locally, which cuts down on our food miles and increases food security and self-sustainability.

Lasagna gardening requires less water and provides us with a reason and place to use all of the compostable, organic material produced in and around our home-saving landfill space and toxins.

Since lasagna gardening takes less time and energy, even busy people can grow food. Those living in condos and apartments can get involved, too-lasagna gardening even works in window boxes. Braun suggests joining or starting a gardening club.

So, are you planting lasagna this year? I sure am.

Sandra Tonn, a first-season lasagna gardener, is a registered holistic nutritionist, natural health writer and yoga instructor based in Powell River, BC. sandratonn.com

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