What are llama beans?
"Llama beans" or “Alpaca Beans” are the droppings / poop / manure produced by these animals. These droppings do look like brown beans so that's where the name comes from. Alpaca or Llama Beans can be used to enhance your soil and produce superior flowers and gardens and are considered to be environmentally friendly.What are llama beans good for?
As per Home Guides by Gemma Craig- How to Use Llama Manure
Llama beans or llama manure"is used as a potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous-rich organic fertilizer in gardens and flowerbeds. Unlike fertilizer sprays and sticks, llama manure is earthy-friendly, and reduces your carbon footprint by recycling a part of nature; it has the added benefit of being odor-free. You can either gather llama manure yourself from your own llamas, or order it from a llama farm, then use it as-is to improve your soil and provide plants with much-needed nutrients.
- Shovel llama manure into a bucket, then moisten the manure so that it is wet, but not flooded. Place the lid on the bucket, and allow the manure to soak for approximately four weeks.
- Check the manure periodically, and add more water when necessary to keep it moist. Fresh manure will not require as long of a soaking period as aged, dried manure.
- Mix the llama manure into your garden's soil, or place it on the soil's surface around your plants; the the manure's nutrients will seep into the ground when it is watered or when it rains."
What is lasagna gardening?
Lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no-till organic gardening method that results in rich, fluffy soil with very little work from the gardener.
According to The Spruce-
The name "lasagna gardening" has nothing to do with what you'll be growing in the garden. Instead, it refers to the method of building the garden: adding layers of organic materials that will “cook down” over time, resulting in nutrient-rich soil that will help your plants thrive. Also known as sheet composting, lasagna gardening is beneficial for the environment because
you're turning yard waste, kitchen scraps, and anything else you'd add to a normal compost pile into organic fertilizer to grow new plants.
More reading here:
5 Ways to Use Llama Manure in Your Garden
Photo credit & description: Dana Pruner-
First photo: llama beans placed on top of a layer of straw;Second photo:finished bed with topsoil,seeds & starts planted;
Third photo: is a little shot of happily growing veggies!
Dana made a video of the whole garden bed layering process below.