A lasagna bed is a no-dig bed built in layers: cardboard first, then alternating greens and browns, topped with compost. The layers rot down into rich soil, and weeds below the cardboard die for lack of light. This free planner takes your bed size and layer depths. It works out bed area and the volume of brown and green material you need to gather.
What this tool does
This free lasagna garden bed planner runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server, and nothing is stored online. You open the page, enter your own measurements, and the plan appears at once, with a simple drawing of the layout below the result. You can try again as often as you like, which makes it easy to test a bigger or smaller layout before you buy soil, pots, or timber. A short plan like this beats guessing, because a garden built on guesses often wastes space, water, and plants in the first season.
How to use it
Start by measuring the real space you have, not a rough guess: length, width, and height in the same units. Enter those numbers in order, then press the calculate button and read every result line, not just the total. If a line looks wrong, change one input at a time and run the tool again, so you can see exactly which input moved the result. Check the drawing too, because it shows whether the layout fits the space you measured. Save or copy the final numbers before you shop, while they are fresh.
Reading your result
The result lines break the plan into parts, so you can check each part against your space and your budget. A total alone rarely tells the full story, but a total built from visible parts does. If a result surprises you, trust the maths first and check your inputs second: most garden surprises come from a mistyped number, mixed units, or a measurement taken from the wrong side of a bed or sill. Fix the input, not the plan, and run it again.
Worked example
Try a bed 3 metres long and 1 metre wide, with 15 cm of browns and 10 cm of greens. The area is 3 square metres. Browns are 3 times 0.15, which is 0.45 cubic metres. Greens are 3 times 0.10, which is 0.30 cubic metres. Total layer depth is 25 cm, before the compost top. Gathering both loads before you start keeps the build to one afternoon.
Why this matters for a gardener
Layer planning stops a common no-dig mistake: a bed that looks deep on day one but sinks to almost nothing as layers rot. Knowing brown and green volumes helps you gather enough material, and the right balance feeds microbes instead of stalling them. A planned lasagna bed also lets you plant on a date you can trust, after the layers have settled for a few weeks.
Gardening tips
Wet each layer as you build, and overlap cardboard sheets so no light leaks through gaps. Use plain cardboard with tape removed, and keep woody browns chopped small so they rot faster. Let the bed settle for a few weeks, then plant into the compost top. Top up with compost each season as the bed sinks.
Common questions
Is this tool really free? Yes. It runs in your browser, needs no account, and has no sign-up step. You can use it as often as you like, for as many garden plans as you like.
Is the result exact for my garden? No. It is a planning estimate from the numbers you enter. Sun, wind, drainage, and local frost dates also affect real results, so check those on site before you build or plant.
Who is it made for? Home gardeners, balcony growers, and small-space growers who want a clear plan before they spend money on soil, pots, or timber.
Spanish version: Planificador de Bancal de Huerto en Lasagna Para Jardineros con Poco Tiempo