I have to agree with nycynthias and say that cardboard is the way to go. Those fibrous roots will, when the plants die, provide a great deal of organic matter in the soil which is a great thing indeed. My approach would be thus: - Cover the whole area with a thin layer of compost. If you can't get that much compost, manure, or a complete organic fertilizer will work. Then, take a very sharp spade and make some deep cuts in a random pattern. Ideally you would turn the soil over, but if that is too much work for the area, then just make some deep cuts and work the shovel back and forth. Get that compost/fertilizer incorporated. At this point, you are trying to break up the root network, introduce some oxygen and some organic matter. - Next, lay down three to four layers of newspaper, wetting each one with a spray hose as you put it down. - Then, over top of that, lay down a good thick layer of cardboard. Not knowing what weed it is, I can't say one or two layers, but one should do it, two would for sure. - Your raised bed will go right over top of that. Regardless of whether you are building a framed/enclosed bed, or simply "hilling" to create a rise, you are going to have to import soil. Get a good quality, local triple mix and incorporate the complete organic fertilizer used above. What is happening underneath all of the newspaper and cardboard? Well, the weeds will experience a boom in growth having their roots aerated and the soil fertilized. The stems will grow in an attempt to reach light. However, with that much weight on top of them and the thick layers of cardboard and newspaper, the stems will not penetrate (at least not most of them). Eventually, their tissue will blanch white in response to the lack of light, and the sugars and carbohydrates will break down fairly quickly. Eventually, the weeds will die and be eaten by a whole host of microbes and worms. All of that eating produces waste, and that waste is what we all want in our soil and does such a great job providing nutrients to the vegetables. Hope that helps. Michael

If the weeds are really tall already, you'd have to use way too much chemical and it would probably get all over you, too - yuck. I'd mow on whatever the highest setting on your lawnmower is, then spray. Wait a couple of weeks for those to die and see if any new ones come up. If so, then spray those. Wait again and keep repeating if you have to. Till when no more perennial weeds are coming. As far as mulch for the annual weeds, there's really no point at this stage. With as long as you say this area has been neglected, you're probably in a situation much like ours where every time you stir the soil, there are going to be a bazillion new seeds exposed. You're going to be dealing with annual weeds for years to come, but at least they're easy to keep under control. Get yourself a good hoe and get out there before they get any true leaves or even sooner. I hoe once a week at least until mulching time. If you keep the soil loose - don't be walking all over it all the time - it's much easier to hoe. Once you've managed to take care of the perennials, another approach with the annual seeds is to rototill, let them germinate, rototill, let them germinate, and so on. You're getting rid of seeds this way instead of just cutting off their sunlight with mulch, in which case they're still there, lying dormant, waiting for their turn to cause trouble. This much tilling isn't always the best idea for soil tilth, though, depending on what kind of dirt you've got. First, though, I'd concentrate on the perennials and get them eradicated asap. Worry about the others later. P.S. Roundup tip from my (conventional) farmer neighbour... spraying in the fall is more effective than any other time of year. The plant is directing it's energy down into its roots instead of up into growth, which means you need less chemical to kill the plant at its root.

Tilling, double digging, lasagna beds, and solarizing are all helpful methods. Depending on the weed type none of those work. For example, you wouldn't want to till in or dig around with poison ivy; and bindweed and couch grass (bermuda grass) have such extensive underground root systems that it is extremely difficult to remove an infestation without use of Roundup (which I don't like using but will in very limited applications). I solarized an area infested with bindweed and couch grass for 6 months; and then covered it with cardboard and a large mound of wood chips (think dump truck load, really) and the stuff STILL came up. For simpler weeds any of the methods work great and it just depends on your preference. When I started my veggie patch I removed the sod by hand and then tilled the garden area and added compost and Nature's helper. I like covering my garden with a good pile of chopped leaves and grass clippings at the end of my growing season; leaving only the herb quilt and winter/fall garden areas uncovered. I keep the walkways mulched year-round. In the spring I move the larger portions of the leaves/grass to the compost bin. The majority of this stuff has rotted into the soil, only a top layer will be remaining in most cases. I turn the beds and add compost. Once a year, sometimes twice, I rake back the woodchips from the walkways and use a hoe to scrape the good underlying compost from the walkway into the beds. I then put down a new layer of newspaper and woodchips.

Oak leaves, when composted, contribute very little to the acidity of the soil. That's a myth. I know nothing about layering cardboard and raw clippings but I can tell you that seed needs to be sown into soil, not uncomposted plant matter. I suggest that you visit the Soil and Compost forum and the Vegetable Gardening forum.